Benevolent Monsters
by Angelkitty1
Summary: Chapter 29: "I made a mistake I will not make again. Nothing happened out there and nothing ever will again! Do I make myself clear?"
1. Chapter 1 Part 1

A/N: Okay, I split this chapter up. I don't want to split it any more than this...b/c I think it would make the story slow. Anyways, again thanks to Lexik, you are the best =3 (I fixed the '...'s and there were a lot =.=) and also anyone else that reviewed. Oh and I have to give a super special thanks to Natalie b/c she actually printed stuff out and went over it for me! That's a true friend! :)

*I'd like people to go into this thinking along the lines of BoF VI or rather a BoF anime series where each chapter is like an episode. That's pretty much what I've set out to achieve :)

**And of course, I do not claim any of Capcom's characters...I just like having fun with them.

**Chapter One**

_**Part I**_

_Princesses Were Born for Things Like This_

If asked what the most beautiful sight in all the world was, Nina would forever say: Wyndia at daybreak.

From her balcony in the tallest tower within the ivory mountain top palace she called home, the princess of Wyndia stretched large snow white wings out into the warming rays of the morning sun, gazing with wide amber eyes at her vast country expanding around her. Apart from a few scattered farmlands in the outer sections, as far as the eye could see were fields upon fields of bright, swaying, multicolored wildflowers. The day of her mother and father's engagement, the king had ordered them to be planted in order to give his fiancé a "country as beautiful as she". For as long as Nina could remember, she would wake just before sunrise to follow her mother out onto this same balcony to watch the morning lights dance on the sea of colors. Even now - five years after her death - Nina's body would automatically draw her to the first glimpse of the sun over the horizon, as if eager to take in the breathtaking sight endlessly.

The princess grasped her balcony's marble railing with pale, slender fingers and leaned forward, allowing the mountain breeze through her long, unbound, honey blonde hair. Today however, she was eager for a different reason. Butterflies fluttered about her stomach as a smile broke through her pale pink lips.

At long last, he was _finally_ back!

She giggled and hopped into the air, catching the wind with her wings, still looking out into the glimmering distance. "After seven years, " she murmured softly to herself, clasping her hands together, "I thought this day would never come..."

"Princess Ni~na!"

Nina whirled around at the urgent call, and through the waving cream colored lace curtains leading into her quarters saw a tall brunette handmaiden place her hands on her hips and tap a high heeled foot hard on the white marble floor. The girl shook her head, her long, high ponytail swinging angrily behind small baby blue wings. "_Gods_ Nina, I've been standing here calling your name for ages!" she huffed, crossing arms holding a noisy array of thin silver bangles. "What are you a zombie? Staring out into the fields like that... What's wrong with you?"

Nina closed her wings and landed daintily on one pink slippered foot. "Nothing _you_ would be concerned with, Chasta," she retorted haughtily, flipping her hair behind her shoulders and sashaying past into her lavish bedroom.

Chasta sighed and followed, knocking curtains out of her way. Her bangles clinked in an almost musical manner. "Well I don't think anything is _so_ important you would ignore me your best friend, I mean-" She halted suddenly and a devilish grin cracked. "Ah-ha! Wait, _I_ see now..."

Nina's nose went into the air when Chasta skipped to her side. "Today's _the_ day isn't it?" she asked excitedly, clasping her hands in front of her, colorful rings on every finger glinting in the sunlight streaming in the room.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh yes you _do_!" Her friend was now bouncing in front of her on her toes, blue wings fluttering and sapphire shaded emerald eyes wide under brow hugging blunt bangs. "You can't _wait_ to see him again can you!" Nina's blush spread and Chasta snorted in amusement, "Look at you!" she cried pointing, "You're scarlet!"

Nina stuck out her tongue and pulled off her light pink terry cloth robe. "Come on, stop making fun and help me find something to wear," she groaned, tossing the robe behind her and pulling open her closet door. Hundreds of dresses met her.

"For him?" Chasta teased behind her in the doorway, folding her robe and setting it down on a chair.

The princess sighed loudly from within the closet. "Yes, Chas. It's for _him_. Now will you _please _come in and help?"

"Fine, fine! All you had to do was be honest," Chasta remarked tailing her.

"I know you too well for that."

"Now why would _I_, the most trustworthy person in _all_ of Wyndia -ah, make that Elanaar (she added matter-of-factly) - stoop so low as to make fun of you?" Chasta pouted, thrusting out a heavily glossed bottom lip dramatically, and touching it with a hot pink flower painted nail.

Nina sighed again, but this time it ended with a smile. "Alright then, what about...this?" She held up an azure silk dress that frilled at the bottom and fastened around the neck, in a halter fashion. The sleeves gaped slightly at the shoulder and flowed down into bell bottom ends that were lined with blue stones.

Chasta gave it a scrutinizing look and shook her head. "Nope, try another one."

"Why?" Nina asked a little hurtfully, holding it out in front of her. "I think it's pretty."

"It is, but your father will blow a gasket if you show skin in the throne room," Chasta fingered the gaps in the shoulders.

Nina's face fell. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that." She reluctantly hung the dress back up. "With the way my father acts, showing even one shoulder would be like me going in there naked," she said, making a face. "I guess we'll have to try those awful ones on the other side. You know, the ones for special events."

Her friend turned around to face a mess of sequins and random flowing pieces of fabric. "What are these_._..?" she asked scrunching up her nose. "They look like...really gaudy masquerade ball outfits..."

"Hence the reason I used the word 'awful' to describe them."

"Well I'm sure we can find..._something_ in here..." The handmaiden trailed off as she eyed a particularly garish one. "You can definitely trust me on this one."

"Right."

As Nina stood there watching her friend tear through the hideous dresses like a dog after a bone saying things like "_Wow this one says it's made of real ostrich feathers!" _there was an anxious pang deep in her belly.

Chasta was right, she was excited beyond words to see Ethan again, but something tapped annoyingly at the edge of her mind, spreading dark, foreboding clouds over that elation. She fought to suppress it; trying to focus solely on the moment when she would be able lay eyes upon him again after so long, but each time, the nervous feeling would only push its way back, clawing at her even harder than before.

"Chasta?" Her voice came out awkward so she cleared her throat.

"Yes, Nina?" Her friend's was muffled by fabric.

The princess bit her lip a few times, unsure of how to put her thoughts into words. "Do you think...he'll...remember me?" she ventured, watching the mountain of dresses stop moving suddenly.

Chasta poked out her head and stared at her incredulously. "Are you seriously asking me that?"

Nina gave a half shrug, feeling a little embarrassed now. "Well, I mean it _has _been seven years."

Chasta stepped completely out of the dresses, cementing one hand to her hip. Bangles jingled loudly when she waved the other hand around. "Nina, I honestly doubt he would forget having any relations with the _Princess of Wyndia,_" she said rolling her eyes.

"Yeah well..."

"And especially the kind of relationship you two had."

"It wasn't like that!" Chasta smirked at her princess' quick response.

"You know what I mean. You two were inseparable! I'd come late at night wanting to talk to you, and I'd find him there-," she pointed at the large rectangular dark green rug lying in front of her bed,"-swinging his stupid swords around and hogging all of your time!"

Nina shrugged again but her doubt was being sliced through by a barrage of nostalgic memories consisting of a young Ethan twirling gracefully into a stances in front of her he swore he invented.

"I don't know _how _many times I had to help sneak him out of here at the crack of dawn because he apparently didn't know when the hell you went to bed!"

"He always insisted on showing me things like that," the princess murmured, still immersed in the past.

"Well, you never said no."

Nina's face flushed red again and Chasta giggled, slapping her palm playfully against the princess' back. "You worry too much, Nina! He's going to be overjoyed to see you, and you _know _it."

"I suppose you're right..."

Chasta rolled her eyes again, "Anyways, here." She yanked out a white dress from behind two pastel hued sequin disasters and handed it to her. "It's simple, elegant and look, it even has a cute cowl neck and this neat sash that ties around you like a belt." Nina held it up in front of her, staring at it half-heartedly. Her friend's look softened. "Nina, I'm serious. There's nothing to be fretting this much about. Now come on, try the dress on and we'll do your hair. Today's going to be a _Good _Day!"

Nina thought about this while she reluctantly slipped on the dress and followed Chasta out to her vanity, where she sat and watched her friend's reflection in the mirror scan her hair.

"Let's see, how did you wear it back then?" Nina's gave a confused look. "You know, seven years ago? Might jump start his heart a bit to see you looking they way you did when he last saw you," Chasta stated with confidence, picking up sections of Nina's loose long hair and separating them. "Didn't you wear it in low pigtails in the back and let some hang out in the front?"

Nina laughed despite her anxiety. "Pigtails? Won't he think I'm being childish?"

"No, not low ones. I can make them classy anyways. I promise!"

"Well I guess you _were_ right about the dress," Nina said throwing an admiring gaze down at her ensemble. It was a simple long sleeved floor length dress, but it fit her in all the right places and was made with some kind of silky fabric that shimmered in the right light. The sash was beautiful too; they had tied it into a bow on the side and let the ends trail to the floor. To make the cowl neck flattering, a diamond rimmed lace choker was thrown in, which Chasta had commented shined and was attractive in _any _light.

Chasta pulled her hair back, took two long pieces of lace ribbon as well as a few strings of pearls and wrapped them gently around the sections of hair. In the end, Nina had pigtails that, like Chasta had said, definitely looked more elegant than a child's. The lace and pearls were woven through the hair picture perfectly. Her friend finished by combing her long bangs to the side and pulling some sections out to fall loose over her ears. "There." The bubbly handmaiden hopped back with a tube of lip stain after she added it. "Now you actually don't look twelve."

Nina regarded her reflection. There is was again, that pesky feeling of dread that only seemed to deepen with every second she stared. Would he like it? Would he notice the effort? She felt her hands grasp gently at the soft fabric of her skirt. "Chasta, regardless of whether he remembers me or not...what kind of person do you think he is now?" She searched her friend's reflection for her reaction. "Will he be the same?"

Chasta's eyes softened. She set the makeup on the table so her hands were free to gently grasp the princess' tense shoulders. "The only thing I can say about that, Nina, is... seven years is a long time to basically be an assassin." Nina held her expression. "I have no doubt he'll be ecstatic to see you as I said, but you have to remember he's been out fighting for a long time in a world a lot different than ours."

"Yeah."

"But, I mean, he did all that fighting to be _your _bodyguard, so that has to account for something, I guess," Chasta said shrugging.

Nina's eyes continued to stare into her own reflection, hoping Chasta was right about one thing.

She really hoped it was going to be a Good Day.

* * *

_Sir Ethan Von Buren_

The title had such class, such _prestige_ for someone so young.

Or rather he wasn't so anymore. Twenty-two was no fifteen after all.

Nina felt the butterflies flap their wings harder and faster within her gut as she walked slowly alongside her father and ten of his soldiers down castle Wyndia's enormous, crimson carpeted main hallway towards the throne room doors. It would only be a matter of minutes before Ethan would walk down this same hall in this same manner. She wondered nervously if he was thinking of her.

The king glanced down at her with questioning eyes as she stared, seemingly immersed in portraits of the royal family lining the walls. "Princess... are you feeling ill?" He asked reaching over and placing a large hand on her forehead. "You never find your ancestors _that _interesting..."

She jumped at the touch then shook her head abruptly. "Oh! No...I'm just a little tired!" she trilled, forcing a smile.

The king took his hand back, chuckling. "Ah I see. You must be excited to see little Ethan again!" He coughed and then corrected himself as her cheeks went pink. "Oh well, excuse me I suppose it's just 'Ethan' now, eh? It's been seven years!"

Nina's eyes went to the floor and she seriously wondered for a moment if "I miss Ethan" was plastered across her forehead.

"To think he was able to finish his training three years ahead of old Lucius..." he trailed off, combing his thick sandy mustache with his fingers. "The boy will be a damn good guardian."

"S_even years is a long time to basically be an assassin." _Chasta's words echoed in her mind and she fought back a shudder.

At some point in Ethan's great grandfather's travels, he had saved the life of the leader an elite group of fighters called "The Assassin's Guild" or better known to the world as simply AG.

Her father had explained the organization to her as a group of bounty hunters who took on anything the members felt would better themselves or the world...or for astronomically large amounts of money. As a group, they were not affiliated with any country and had such a reputation of heartless killing that no kingdom ever called upon them openly for risk of rumor. While they were a _group_, rarely would they act together, and some of the members were even regarded in parts of the world as demons.

The Von Burens were a family of battlers, each generation striving their hardest to surpass the one before it, and accepted a pact from the AG stating for as long as the Roman family led them, the Von Burens were allowed to train with the greatest assassins the world had to offer. Normally the time frame was around ten years, starting from early adolescence, but they said Ethan was _special._

When she first heard of this arrangement, she was shocked. Why would Wyndia go along with this? Those people were _monsters_! Her father told her the Von Burens had been this country's guardians for as long as there had been royalty. They were the strongest Wyndians, and that's what the job called for. If it took dealing with the scum of the earth to make them so, then so be it.

"_Every country has its shadows. I gather this is ours."_

Nina's chest tightened. What kind of person did that sort of training yield? Was Ethan noted as one of those demons now?

The throne room door came before she was ready. She stood silently, curling her fingers tight against her sides and staring at winged, long haired Goddesses carved into the dark wood flying gracefully strumming harp-like instruments in their dainty hands, trying to force her mind as far away from the AG as she could. Ethan? The one that would sometimes pillow fight with her and Chasta, a hard nosed berserker? No. She wouldn't entertain the thought.

"_Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you his majesty, King Issac Randolph Wynlan VII of Wyndia and his lovely daughter, Princess Nina Valentina Wynlan of Wyndia!" _a deep voice boomed from the other side of the door. It was Asheton Cureton, the king's head adviser. Trumpets sounded. She flinched.

Soldiers pushed at the door and it opened slowly, its creaks echoing loudly throughout the cathedral ceilinged room. Inside, over a hundred people knelt down in unison.

Nina swallowed a lump in her throat and made her way down the aisle that lead to the throne. Above them, a stained glass skylight of the Goddess flying with her enormous white wings outstretched and blonde hair flowing, filtered pale colored light on the rows of soldiers and nobles that lined either side of the carpet.

She quickly scanned the bowing crowd while walking for Chasta and found her looking up from her kneeling position, smiling at her so broadly it almost looked maniacal. Nina made a face at her and almost giggled, but stopped when she felt a sharp jab on her shoulder; She had reached the end of the walkway and was still making faces at Chasta while her father impatiently tapped his foot, waiting on her to take her seat. She blushed and quickly took position on her throne, grateful everyone's eyes were still on the floor.

"You may rise," Asheton bellowed through his silver forest of a beard beside the king. The mass of nobles stood. "Your Majesty." He bowed to the king and scurried back into the sidelines.

Nina looked out over the crowd from her seat. Being in the throne room was always an interesting experience; one that both her and Chasta usually enjoyed. It was one of the only times they got to see all of the good looking Wyndian soldiers lined up in a row, standing at attention. Although most of the time Nina would get angry in the end because, well she was the princess and could never even be seen _looking _at any of them, no matter how handsome and unbelievably fit they all were. Chasta, on the other hand, could have her pick; there was nothing stopping a handmaiden, and she made sure to always let Nina remember it by throwing scandalous stories dripping with details about her escapades at the princess weekly.

Today unfortunately, she couldn't bring herself to spare the energy to care about the many intrigued stares Chasta's pick in attire was awarding her. Her eyes were glued to the door.

The king cleared his throat and her own tightened. "For four generations now, the training of the Wyndian Royal Guardians has been allotted to a decade of hard work and dedication; as only the ones strong enough to endure such, should be allowed to protect the royal family." Nods were seen in the distance by the nobles. "We are celebrating this day, not only to appoint our newest guardian, but for the fact that this boy-" He coughed, smiled. "Excuse me, _man_...had the drive and perseverance to amaze his educators in such a way, he was sent back to us three years prior to his predecessors."

Nina's heartbeat quickened when Asheton appeared again at her father's side and whispered something into his ear. The king nodded. "It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you all, Wyndia's newest edition to the royal military officers, Mr. Ethan Von Buren!"

Again the trumpets sounded. Perfectly manicured hands gripped the arms of her throne.

The large wooden throne door creaked open again and for Nina, time slowed to a crawl. A white winged man, decked completely in ancient Wyndian ceremonial armor floated into the sunlit room with a grace only a god should possess. Gasps could be heard along with the surprisingly gentle clinking of plate -considering all of the armor he wore- as he landed and strode forward, slowly and importantly, to the end of the aisle. Whispers erupted as he pushed his magnificent cloak back and dropped down on one knee before the king. Nina gaped.

Lucius, Ethan's father, had been her mother's guardian, and was knighted when she was very, very young. Nina remembered a story her mother told her one night while she was putting her to bed about how, as a child, she was infatuated with a "white knight"; a man who she saw only once in her lifetime and couldn't remember who he was or why she had a memory of him. It wasn't until later she learned it was Lucius.

As she sat there staring at what was supposed to be Ethan kneeling before her, his large white wings extending over that amazing armor, she could see exactly why.

The armor was a full suit of platinum plate that at each joint, branched off into intricate wing designs. Attached to platinum chain mail, the shoulders jutted up into points as tall as his head, and then layered down with similar points, each etched with writing that was filled with sparkling diamonds. The helm was valkyrie style; the wings on it also diamond engraved. His breastplate sported an embossed portrait of the Wyndian family crest that could only be halfway seen for the loose collar of the ivory cloak he donned, which held a majestic crimson phoenix. An ornately jeweled sword handle glittered at his side.

He looked so angelic, so _significant. _

She felt she would fall from her chair, but she couldn't help leaning forward as far as she could and stare, eyes filled with curiosity and wonder. Ethan was never lanky as a kid, but he was never like _this._ She could see his bulky form even through all of the armor. Gone were the days of her being able to tackle him for sure.

She shook her head at such a stupid thought.

"Mr. Von Buren."

Her father's voice pulled her attention back. The white knight raised his head, sparkled in the skylight's colored rays.

"You may remove your helm."

A wave of familiarity rushed over her. That hair. You didn't forget a head of fire like that.

Platinum gauntlets ran through short, bright crimson spikes and then fell, joining the rest of Ethan's body in a low respectful bow. "My Liege." A surprisingly deep voice came from his lips as he raised his head to the king.

Was this really her childhood friend? This..._man_?

Looking at him now, she could clearly see that it was in fact Ethan, but seven years had made a difference in him. His hair, which he had forever worn long and bound, was now cut short and sophisticated yet, still as red as a sunset. His facial features were more defined and mature – he even had a bit of stubble now on his chin and jawline- and then there was...

She felt her breath catch in her throat. On the bridge of his nose was a small but very noticeable dent across it. Her heart crashed in her chest.

It had made a mark, and worse: a mark that _stayed._

He blinked perfect hunter green eyes and took a deep breath. "As the son of the late Sir Lucius Von Buren, I am now handed the duty of protecting the royal Wyndian family." He quickly glanced from Nina back to the king and she felt her heart skip. "I have traveled the world and have witnessed many things. With the experiences I have encountered, I believe I am more than ready for anything that shall come of us." He bowed his head again, swept a shining gauntlet out before him. "I give you my word that my judgment will never falter, for I surrender my soul in a vow to keep the Wynlan's inviolability. This I swear on the royal resting place of my ancestors."

Nina gaped again at the maturity of his words, while the king nodded profusely, clapping his hands together.

"Such etiquette, such enthusiasm!" The king slowly stood from his chair and Asheton hurried over, his own chubby hands carrying a long white pillow with what Nina assumed was "The King's Sword"; an ancient sword said to have unleashed it's power at the Goddess's will to cleanse the lands of all evil many years ago. The last time she saw that sword, her mother was being lowered into the ground.

Ethan kept his head down as the king grasped the ruby encrusted gold hilt of the enormous straight bladed sword, and brought it down gently on his left shoulder. "With this sword I hold in my hand, blessed by the Goddess's love and glory...I, King Issac Rudolph Wynlan VI, leader of this great country of Wyndia, hereby dub you _Sir _Ethan Von Buren, Royal Guardian of the Wynlan royal family," The sword switched shoulders and then was brought back down to the king's side. "You may now rise."

Slowly, Ethan stood, and Nina realized he was _tall_. He towered over the king now.

"I am forever grateful, your Majesty."

The king smiled and raised his hands into the air, gesturing to the crowd enthusiastically. "Let it be known today is a historic day!" he boomed, "Not only do we have our new Royal Guardian, we also have finally been invited to finalize the treaty with Ludia!"

A slew of excited whispers erupted from the crowd. Nina cocked her head to try and listen.

Ludia was the country northwest of Wyndia and they were always at eachother's throats every decade or so about something. This time it seemed a human got angry, killed a Wyndian in a conspicuous place, and all hell broke loose. She shook her head. Maybe there was more to it, she was never involved in the politics of any situation, so why bother to listen to anything about it? Only thing she cared about was whether it was or was not safe to go out on her balcony.

"It will also be your first assignment as _Sir_ Von Buren." She noticed that Ethan even nodded importantly. "I want you to accompany Princess Nina into Ludian territory to speak with their prince about the details of our treaty."

Huh, so she was going to Ludia with Ethan.

Nina blinked. "Wait...what?" She blurted.

The king turned abruptly and nodded sharply at her. "You are going to Ludia in a few hours to speak with Prince Vahn about our treaty. Sir Von Buren will be your bodyguard," he said slowly with a stern glare.

"B-but _me_? Discuss something as important as a treaty? Father, I don't think it's wise to..."

She trailed off, suddenly remembering where she was when a frantic "_Psst! Psst!" _reached her ears from the audience. In the corner of her eye, she caught Chasta motioning for her to zip her lips then hide behind a tall butler.

"You are going to Ludia tomorrow to discuss the treaty," he said equally as stern.

Under theses circumstances, she knew she had to agree. "Y-yes Your Majesty," she stammered nervously and sat back, trying to ignore the stares she was getting.

"_Did you hear that? The Princess talked back to the King!"_

"_My, how rebellious that girl is getting!"_

Nina pursed her lips and wished she could disappear into the chair's puffy red velvet backing. Ethan glanced over at her again and added to her desperation. "I will be honored to accept such a task," he said, gaze remaining. "Princess Nina will be safe in my hands."

The rest of the ceremony went on with the King giving more thanks to Ethan's ancestors and a remembrance of his father, Lucius, who three years ago was killed by an assassin attempting to murder her father. She tried to pay attention, but the only thing running through her mind was the fact she was about to take a three hour ride in a carriage alone with her new bodyguard.

And here he was sporting that beautiful discolored scar. She closed her eyes. There was no way she would talk about it; only if he happened to mention it. Blood rushed to her cheeks and she fidgeted in her seat, stealing glances at him when she could. But what if he _did _mention it? What would she say to him? After all, she was the one who gave him that unsightly mark. She sighed inwardly and prayed he really didn't think of the word _unsightly _when he thought of it.

"_Ahem! _Princess Nina!"

"Yes?" She chirped sitting up in her chair, trying to focus on what was going on. Again, the nobles stared and some whispering about her either being one of those far seers like some of the princesses of the past, or just a lazy daydreamer pursued. She ignored it.

"I said we would be honored for you to finish with the Goddess's Hymn."

"Th-the Goddess's Hymn..." She felt her legs wobble as she stood. How could she have forgotten? It was tradition. Every knighting, every crowning, every royal birth, every royal death, a Wyndian princess was to preform the Goddess's Hymn to ensure good fortune upon everyone that hears it.

She swallowed, walked a few steps ahead of the king. Now only inches from Ethan, who's eyes were unnervingly locked on hers. "I-I...I..." she started to stammer, eyes gravitating to his nose. She _had_ to look away.

Frantically she searched again for Chasta and found her mouthing "_You can do it!" _from behind that same tall butler.

Nina took a deep breath and began to sing.

The Goddess's Hymn was a prayer sung in ancient Wyndian to "Protect those who had shed their blood for the people of this great land" and "To the prosperity of Wyndia and blessings for all those who believe in the Goddess's love".

After learning the song as a child, Nina took it to great lengths to became fluent in a language she thought was one of the most beautiful tongues in all of the world; the language of magic and the old clan. This was her third time publicly singing the hymn; the other two being the birth of her sister and the death of her mother. Her nervousness melted away with every note. Luckily for her, her voice was destined to be one of Wyndia's, and the world's, finest treasures. Legends told of the Goddess purposely implanting her voice into the genes of all Wyndian princesses so every organized hymn of great importance in her name reached her ears in perfect harmony.

She finished and opened her eyes to nobles and soldiers alike, wiping tears from their own. Chasta fanned her face frantically in the background. Ethan's lips parted in awe.

Asheton hurriedly fetched the king a handkerchief so he could dry his own eyes. "Always beautiful, my daughter...always absolutely breathtaking..." he nearly sobbed into the white fabric with the Wyndian emblem embroidered on the corner, "You all may be dismissed. May the Goddess watch over us all."

"May the Goddess watch over us all," The audience spoke together.

The room began to clear and Ethan stood slowly, his armor's plates clanking gently together. Nina marveled at how she barely reached his shoulders.

"Princess Nina, I would like you to be outside waiting on the coach by mid afternoon." The king commanded, tossing the used handkerchief back to a fumbling Asheton.

"F-Father!" she started and shrunk back at the cold glare she received. "I mean, _My Liege_," she said suppressing the urge to roll her eyes, knowing he was probably acting like this because Ethan was still standing there. "I want to talk with you about this treaty. I don't think that I'm the right person to do this!"

"You're going," He said simply, walking off of the platform.

"B-but you don't let me know anything about _anything_! How am I supposed to know what to say?" she cried running after.

"Princess, do not forget your place."

"Father I _know _my place! That's what I'm trying to tell you!"

The king's jaw clenched. A large vein formed on his broad forehead when he scowled at her again, "The prince has specified that you and only you are allowed to speak with him about the details. I will give you a run down of the paperwork in a packet you can read as you head to Ludia."

"S-Since when do I make appearances like this...!'?"

"_Do not _question me, Princess," he leaned in close, glaring at her with piercing brown eyes. "Come, Sir Von Buren," he stepped back, motioning to the white knight, surface anger diminishing instantaneously. "I'll show you to your room so you can change out of that cumbersome outfit."

Ethan glanced at Nina fuming and staring at the floor, then nodded back at the king.

"Yes, it _is_ quite difficult to maneuver in," he chuckled softly and joined him.

Nina waited until they were out of the room before she walked to her father's throne and kicked the side of it as hard as she could. There was a _snap _and she looked down to see her heel had cracked. "Damnit...," she muttered yanking both of her shoes off.

"You can't be talking back to him like that, Nina, you're going to get into real trouble one day," she heard Chasta say behind her.

"Yeah, well I'm tired of having to call him 'My Liege' or 'Your Majesty' when anyone 'important' is around... He had no right to embarrass me like that in front of Ethan!" Nina cried, spinning around angrily to face her.

"Well he _is _the king..."

"Are you supposed to be cheering me up?" Nina asked, raising an immaculately arched blonde eyebrow at her friend who shrugged back at her.

"Well, how about Ethan, huh?" Chasta asked winking, "He turned out waaaay better looking than _I _expected."

Nina's mind went back to the scar. "Yeah, he did, but..." her shoulders slumped, "He's got a scar on his face now!"

"What? A scar? So what? Every soldier's face was painted with envy the moment he walked in, _especially_ when they saw the way you were gawking at him. It shouldn't matter that someone as sexy as him has a scar-" She stopped and blinked. "Oh. _Oh!_" She immediately started bouncing on her toes, baby wings fluttering. "I can't believe I forgot about that! No _wonder_ you're such a basket case!"

Nina flushed and looked away. "It's really not that big of a deal."

"Yes it _is_! And _now _I know why you were so zombie-fied at the ceremony! You pervert!"

"What!'? I am not a _pervert_! Where did you get that from?"

Chasta's grin spread even wider. "You're gonna have that carriage all to yourselves and I bet all you can think about is what he's going to say to you," She stopped bouncing and leaned forward with a sly look. "What he's going to _do _to you."

"No, no no, are you nuts?'!" Nina cried waving her hands in front of her, the blush felt like it was infecting the rest of her body. "You know I'm not like that! I wasn't even thinking about that at all! I am _not _that kind of girl!"

Chasta stuck out her tongue and bounced again. "Whatever I _know _you're that kind of girl and I'm going to tell Ethan!" she cried kicking off and heading straight for the door.

Nina blinked. "You're going to do _what_?" She pushed off of the chair and dove forward. "Oh no you don't! Chas come back!" she called, chasing her out of the throne room and into the hallway where the other handmaidens screamed in surprise as they barreled past. "Sto~p!"

She laughed as she struggled to keep up with her taller, longer legged friend. That Chasta, she thought warmly, watching the brunette look back and stick out her tongue again. What would she do without her?

"Wait up!"

* * *

Hours later, Nina flipped anxiously through a thick pamphlet of the treaty her father had given her while listening to the steady sound of six armored horses trotting in front of the carriage. The king had said to make sure and read it, but there was no way she could concentrate with Ethan sitting right in front of her. All she could do was stare at the pages dumbly.

They had entered the carriage with an unspoken respect; only soft smiles and nods, and it left Nina wondering if he really _did _forget her after all. Even now, a good half hour into the ride, he sat across from her at the window, silently gazing out as if in a trance. Presently clad in a tighter fitting white plate version of the Wyndian royal soldier getup that all the soldiers wore (basic iron plate with chain mail and a large crimson cloak), he looked a bit more approachable than when he was in that ceremonial outfit. She just wished that for a moment he would look away from that damned window.

Pursing her lips, she flipped back to the beginning of the pamphlet and held it up in front of her in an honest attempt to decipher it. Like it or not, she was going to be representing her country in a few hours and there was no sense worrying about Ethan if he wasn't going to talk anyways.

After consuming a few pages of primarily respectful sap thanking the other side for agreeing to cooperate with her country, she decided to flip to the middle where she assumed most of the important things were. It turned out not what she expected at all.

Rows and rows of incomprehensible equations littered the pages along with the words TAXES AND DEDUCTIONS written in neat calligraphy across the top. Her brow knit and she sighed softly. There was absolutely _no_ way she was going to learn all of this before she reached Ludia, she thought, closing her eyes in a brief attempt to calm her nerves. Where was Chasta with a stupid story when she needed it?

The carriage hit a small bump and she opened them to her new bodyguard lounging across from her. He was still staring out of the window. Annoyance flared. So what if he was a hardened assassin now? He was still her old friend of more years than he was gone and so far he hadn't had the decency to say, "Hey it's been a bit, how have you been?" or _any_ conversation for that matter. Her eyes hovered over his scar. How could he look in the mirror everyday and _not_ remember her?

Hunter green eyes suddenly met hers and she flinched. "I-I'm sorry I just...," she stammered and immediately wished she had kept her mouth shut.

Ethan sat up and to her surprise, smiled back; he really did have a hell of a smile. "No, I think this is more my fault." He scratched his head thoughtfully. "I haven't spoken to you at all, Princess."

She clasped her hands together in her lap and tore her eyes from him to regard the maroon colored plush carriage seat beside her with embarrassment. His politeness was putting a damper on her anger. "It's fine. It's...been a really long time."

"I want to give you my condolences for the Queen," she heard him say after a moment. "It must have been hard for you; you were very close to her."

She looked up. "I should hardly think as close as you and Sir Lucius were. My condolences to you as well," she replied gravely.

Ethan's smile warmed up and he shook his head, "Oh no, there's no need for that. Father died exactly how he was meant to. Word reached me that he didn't let the assassin get away too lightly either."

What he had just said was an understatement, Nina thought. From what her father had told her of what happened, Lucius had stopped a Shydian intruder from stabbing the king while he was in his study, only to take the blade in his own body over thirty times. Yet even after that, he managed to disembowel the assassin before he died. Nina remembered seeing the bloodied bodies being pulled from the room by soldiers after she and Chasta sneaked up to see what all the commotion was. It had only resulted in making her sick; not a memory she wanted to be reminded of.

"I'm just glad nothing happened to you during that period with no guardian. Especially with the birth of Isabella." he said leaning forward and placing his elbows on his knees. He clasped his hands underneath his chin, "I was worried. It was one of the main reasons I trained so hard."

Nina found herself smiling sheepishly and shrugged. Lucius's death had brought on her father's "No going out into the city unless you have no less than thirty guards accompanying you" rule. She hadn't been out since. "What's good now is that you're back...and I can _finally_ go outside," she said, trying to divert the conversation from their deceased parents.

"Yes, His Majesty informed me that this would be the first time in awhile you've left he castle gates. Such a shame. There's so much to see outside those walls." He shook his head.

"Well...It really hasn't been _so _bad. The outside wouldn't be so pretty with a knife in my back you know," She was grinning now. Talking with him was getting easier the more she heard his voice. It was really only slightly deeper; the essence was still the same. "I still have Chasta...and we find things to keep us entertained around the castle."

"Ah, Chasta. I can imagine you two cause a lot of trouble."

Nina laughed. He must have seen them running through the castle yelling like madwomen earlier. "Really? You think I've become a troublemaker in your absence?" she asked, to her astonishment, almost mischievously.

Ethan gave a half smile. "Your antics come to mind every time I am near any reflective surface." He tapped the bridge of his nose gently. "I believe an older, wiser you might be a bit more dangerous if provoked."

"I wasn't 'provoked'! You went and ki-" She clamped her mouth shut, cheeks red, and stared wide eyed at him. This was exactly what she _didn't_ want to talk about! She decided not to speak until he did.

Unfortunately she didn't have to wait long.

"You've really grown, Princess," Ethan said gently, eyes running over her in a slightly different way than before. It was making her nervous. "It's almost surreal to set eyes on you again."

"That goes for you as well," she blushed harder when he continued to smile that smile at her. She brought part of her hair in front of her shoulder and began running her fingers through it without realizing it.

"I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, nineteen is no twelve after all, is it?" he asked in a smooth, even gentler tone. "And your voice...I've never heard something so amazing... I felt like I was listening to an angel; I couldn't bring myself to look away. You really are a sight to behold, Princess Nina."

Her face was on fire now. What was he getting at? Was he talking to her like _that _or was Chasta's ridiculously risqué scenarios throwing her mind in the gutter? Her anxious hair combing continued as she stared into his dark eyes without a clue on how to respond to him at all.

In front of people and especially coupled with Chasta's radiating confidence, Nina felt she knew exactly how to deal with the opposite sex. If you looked at them like _this_ and leaned at them like _that _all while giving the most innocent pout you could, you got almost anything you wanted most of the time without having to really _interact _with them. At least it worked with soldiers, servant boys and a majority of nobles. However, she had zero experience being one on one with them and being talked to like _this_...

As a child she was alone with him more times than she could count. Even that day...how had she reacted? Her eyes went yet again to his scar.

The small sliding window that separated them from the driver flew open and broke the silence. "Sir Von Buren, I hate to bother you, but we're approaching the checkpoint. Can you come out here for a bit and talk to the soldiers?"

Ethan leaned back and nodded at him. "Alright, I'll meet you outside," he said inching towards the door as the carriage slowed to a stop in front of a small wooden cabin with the dark blue Ludian lion crested flag stretched across the rooftop. "I'll have to finish talking to you later." Nina felt her face still burning when he nodded at her. "I think for the rest of the trip I'll have to ride out front; Ludia is still not our ally quite yet. I want to make sure I get you there and back in one piece." That smile again. She couldn't find any words, but he didn't seem to care. He merely bowed his head again and proceeded out of the door where he was met with six surly looking Ludian soldiers.

"Greetings, Ludians," He announced cheerfully, giving them a low, respectful bow as they approached, weapons half drawn. "I am Sir Ethan Von Buren, here escorting the Princess of Wyndia to meet with Prince Vahn of Ludia about our treaty. I hope you've received our paperwork via messenger...if not, I have some here."

A few of the soldiers' mouths dropped and their swords lowered. "_Ethan Von Buren_?" One almost whispered under a thick black mustache.

The door closed and Nina could no longer hear them. She watched from the window. The Ludians were staring at Ethan as if he had three heads as he moved his hands around in what looked to her like a genuine attempt at casual conversation.

That one soldier had said Ethan's name like it was a curse or something, and she wondered what it meant. Her eyes lingered on her bodyguard's seemingly personable smile as he chatted and showed the spooked soldiers loads of papers. What kind of reputation would make these men visibly shake in their boots? Beyond the huddle, she could see others inside of the dingy cabin peeking through ragged navy curtains and pointing.

Reports came in every six months concerning Ethan, and Nina would diligently wait for the messenger every time, prepared for the worst. The AG's main headquarters was located in one of the most dangerous places on the planet: The Western lands of Shyde. Besides being almost entirely covered by sandstorm invested, unforgiving deserts, the major cities were melting pots for the uncouth. Black markets, guilds of bandits, prostitution rings, underground gambling...anything and everything shady was usually what came to mind when the word "Shyde" was mentioned.

Even it's ruler was shifty; a supposed beautiful immortal bandit queen that had never made a public appearance to date. It was said that not even her own kingdom knew what she looked like. High end assassins did her message delivering and were her army. Because they worked in the shadows, no country really knew how many members the military held; only that they had enough to crush most small armies that invaded their country and yet not enough to invade one on their own. What they did know for sure was that they showed no mercy; there was no such thing as being taken a prisoner in Shyde.

The humans were handing Ethan back the papers and stepping away from him, bowing over and over again.

Ethan spent seven years in that land, where they say if you look at someone in the wrong manner you'll get your throat slit no matter how many eyes were watching. Nina watched her guardian smile, scratch his head, and bow back generously.

What all did Ethan see in that horrid place?

Better yet, what all did Ethan _do_?

He turned and headed back to the carriage, hopped into the air and flew to the front seat. Nina looked up when he sat down and motioned at her through the driver's window. "Looks like it's another two hours until we get to castle Ludia. Are you going to be alright back there by yourself?" he asked and she blushed.

"Y-yea...of course I'll be fine," she lied, wanting him back there with her to finish whatever conversation he was trying to have with her earlier.

"Alright, Princess you just relax and watch the scenery. Ludia is actually nice this time of year." Nina nodded and was disappointed to see him close the window so soon.

"I guess I'll have to..." She sighed and slumped back against the side window as the carriage slowly pulled forward past the checkpoint and the staring soldiers and into Ludian territory.

Ludia didn't really look that impressive to Nina. It was probably because she was spoiled by Wyndia's flowers, she knew, but all Ludia seemed to offer were normal forests and boring looking plains with dreadful, dull, non unique looking human peasants everywhere. She eyed a shabby farmhouse that had two elderly women in rags sitting out on a porch, smoking long, skinny pipes and eying her back with cold, menacing stares. Nina shuddered.

Humans hated Wyndians, it was a simple fact. Wyndians had wings. They didn't.

Another farmhouse crept into view with more perturbed bystanders outside. She averted her eyes.

She had been to castle Ludia once before, at the age of ten before any of the fighting in her lifetime had occurred, in a meeting the eastern world leaders held. Prince Vahn of Ludia was a child then as well; he was probably only a few years older than her. She distinctly remembered her first encounter with him. He came up to her while she was playing in some flowers waiting for her father in the courtyard after the meeting, and told her in a dreamy, far off voice that she looked like an angel. The way he was looking at her had been unsettling even at such a young age, and anytime afterwards when she would see him around, he would stare the same way, with no regard for discreetness. At the time, she had considered it peculiar, but now she thought maybe it was flattering. After all, he had requested that she, and only she, be the one that came to discuss the treaty with him, maybe that one unintentional good impression would help her out.

They passed the outside farmland areas and were now heading into one of the normal looking forests. Nina thought "normal" only because Wyndia was a huge step in the other direction. Due to an excess of natural magic in the air, her country's sparse forests were filled with horrifying monsters that fed on the flesh of anything living and trees that moved of their own accord. Towns had to be built outside a fifty mile radius of any wooded area in order to minimize the chance of attacks. Ludia's forests actually had _cute_ forest creatures and tall oak trees that did little but blow in the wind.

She leaned her forehead against the window and watched a squirrel skitter up the trunk of a large one before she felt her eyes lose focus and her mind slowly drift away.

"_You really are a sight to behold, Princess." _

She smiled to herself and wondered smugly if he was thinking of her as well.

* * *

Ludia city came before she was expecting it.

At the first sight of the large stone gate with two huge carved lions guarding either side, her mind snapped back to reality.

"Gods, the _treaty_!" she groaned, grabbing it from beside her and throwing it open. Her fingers tore through the pages and her brain tried to take in whatever was not a number.

"Okay so...Ludia wants it so that we sell them produce at a cheaper price because the deserts of Shyde are spreading over into the country and killing the farmlands," she read aloud. "Oh, well that's no good... and...we aren't allowed to question a Ludian soldier if he wishes to come into any Wyndian residence for safety...okay..." She flipped more pages desperately. "Ludia will cease manning ambush points on the outskirts of Wyndian territory to attack travelers if the Princess of Wyndia agrees to-"

Ethan slid open the driver window and she lost her place in a nervous scramble. "The soldiers will need to see inside the coach, princess. They want to make sure we aren't sneaking anything in we shouldn't be." He flashed a smile, she nodded automatically.

"O-Of course." She looked down at the book again and he shut the window. "Damn..." She flipped back and forth a few pages searching for her name. Why was her name in there anyways? Was that why she was asked to come?

The carriage stopped and the door opened, bringing Nina face to face with two Ludian soldiers against a background of bright sunlight. One removed his helmet and bowed a sandy blonde head at her. "My apologizes, Princess Nina, but I must ask you to allow us to inspect the area." He had a cheerful face. The other soldier reached out and extended a thick hand for her to take.

"As you wish," she said, nodding to him and was helped out of the carriage.

The young blonde soldier leaned down and started patting the tops and sides of the puffy seats, muttering "Check!" over and over again.

"Sorry 'bout this. Is jus' routine," rumbled the other soldier beside Nina. She glanced up past his tall, burly form and into his intense brown eyes, staring at her from behind the metal grates of the helmet he was still wearing. Did he really have to look at her like that? Hadn't he ever seen a Wyndian before?

"It's no problem, I suppose-H-hey!" she yelped when she felt something grasp the top of her left wing.

Ethan was there in seconds, blade drawn and eyes blazing. "I don't think it's any routine to touch the Princess of Wyndia like that," he sneered through thin-lips, pulling her behind him and bringing his sword tip to the soldier's bulging adam's apple.

"Aye, I'm just checkin' ta see if she's really a Wyndian, man. Put the sword away 'aight? I was tol' ta do that. I ain't tryin' to mess wit' no high class royalty...'" he said putting his hand on the flat of the blade and giving Nina a little smirk. She made a disgusted face.

Ethan grunted and lowered his blade. "Well, whoever told you to do that, doesn't understand Wyndians," he snapped, motioning for the gawking blonde soldier to get out of the way and ushering Nina back into the coach.

"Fast...," she heard the soldier mutter with his eyes on the ground.

"Inform your prince that we have arrived. If you are prompt, I'll think twice about mentioning your atrocious behavior."

"I tol' you I was ordered ta do that!"

Ethan shut the coach door and took his seat up front again while the big soldier continued to plea outside. The horses whinnied and the carriage pulled off into the city.

Nina crossed her arms and glared at the soldier through the window until he was out of view. Anyone who knew _anything_ knew that the wings on a Wyndian were _not _something just anyone had the permission to lay hands on. "Ugh, and I'm the damn _princess_!" she fumed. The only other person to have ever touched her wings was...

"_I promise my life to you...Princess Nina Valentina Wynlan of Wyndia..."_

To her disappointment, she didn't have time to reminisce; her coach was being surrounded by crowds of Ludian citizens.

Ludia's main city was a very lively place. Market stalls were on every corner with men and women alike showing off wares and haggling loudly with the public. Children in dirty rags and no shoes played on the cobblestone roadways, kicking balls or chasing each other through the crowds with wooden swords, yelling and laughing. It would have been entertaining to watch, had they continued with their routine. Scores of people were losing interest in the merchants and were now staring at the royal coach with a mixture of emotions. A few looked as if they were yelling, Nina was glad she couldn't hear them.

Not wanting to provoke anyone any more than she apparently had, she took her gaze to a mural of a tall blonde man raising a glowing hand into the air to a celebrating army. Bit narcissistic there.

Castle Ludia stood tall or rather loomed over the city with its gothic structured dark brown, almost black towers that looked as though they belonged more on a church out of a horror story. All along the edges of the rooftops were statues of the Goddess bursting from the building, clutching large intricate bouquets of roses.

After traveling down a ridiculously long driveway lined with vibrant red rose bushes, the castle came fully into view and Nina gazed at it until they pulled up to yet another crowd of people. She was relieved to see these humans smiling.

Her door opened and handmaids rushed to kneel on either side as she exited with the help of a handsome dark haired man in important looking blue robes. They reflected a shimmering pattern of lions in the sunlight and she wondered if it was the same kind of material as her dress. He let go of her hand and bowed respectfully. She noticed smart looking small round glasses on the top of his head. "Hello Princess Nina of Wyndia, I am Prince Vahn's head adviser, Nichol Talbot," he said when he came back up. "It's very nice to meet you!" He gave a warm smile and kept his bright blue eyes on her. "I hope your travels were well."

"It's nice to meet you as well, Adviser Talbot." She nodded, returning his smile. She didn't really know how to act in front of such important people without her father there to guide her, she was always told to just stand and look attractive while he did all the talking. She figured being extremely polite _while _looking attractive couldn't hurt. "We arrived here with no trouble at all." She mentally added Nichol to the list of things to tell Chasta about when she got back. Strange to see such a young adviser these days, but then she remembered the king of Ludia had recently fallen ill, and the prince had basically taken over. He probably wanted an adviser closer to his age.

Ethan walked up beside her. "Actually I would like to have a word with you about the behavior of one of your guards near the entrance of the city," he said sternly, and Nina felt anger flare up again at the reminder.

Nichol blinked and nodded so briskly, his glasses fell down from his hair. His nose caught them and he chuckled. "Of course, of course, we can talk about anything you like just as soon as Prince Vahn gets here-"

"Are you trying to hog all of the princess' precious time for yourself, Nichol?" a flamboyant voice called from the stairway leading into the castle.

Nina looked over to see a tall, pale skinned man with long blonde hair bound low and sitting on his left shoulder walk towards them shaking his head, his long bangs blowing in the breeze.

"Oh Vahn, don't be so stingy! I wanted to meet her as well!" Nichol cried pushing his glasses into place.

The prince came closer. Nina took a good look at him.

Last time she saw him, he was a kid and she really only remembered that he was blonde with blue eyes. She thought she remembered long hair from before too. Like Ethan, Prince Vahn was a man now and actually was...decently handsome...if the fact he could be called _pretty _at the right angle was ignored. He wore a simple outfit of black pants and a white collared shirt that was slightly unbuttoned at the top, with a blue Ludian scarf tied loosely around his neck, but the crispness and sleekness of everything screamed expensive. So did the platinum cuffs she saw glinting in the afternoon sun when he raised his hand. She gave him an approving smile, concluding that at least he could dress well. He batted long eyelashes at her. "Well now, let's have a look at you."

To her surprise and embarrassment, he began walking around her, eyeballing her as if he had ordered her out of a catalog. "Hmm...yes... Even more enchanting then I anticipated...," he murmured gently, nodding and keeping one hand on his chin. She felt her ears burn when he stopped in front of her, gaze lingering on her in a very familiar manner. She cleared her throat.

He shook his head as if snapping out of a trance and approached her, reaching for her hand and taking it in his gently. His thumb brushed across the top of it. Pale blue eyes met hers and he smiled. "Such beautiful hands too... Tell me, are you sure you aren't an angel? I thought only they had such perfect porcelain skin, " he breathed, touching his lips to it.

The burn flushed over her and she pulled her hand away as daintily as she could, using it to cover her mouth while she giggled as girlishly as her nerves allowed. Geez that _look. _"You are _too_ flattering, Prince Vahn," she said smiling charmingly, "Now, shall we go inside to discuss the treaty? I should hate to take up too much of your time."

Prince Vahn flashed a sparkling grin Nina felt was too much for the occasion. "Oh, you want to get right down to business, I see!" he cried leading her by the shoulder through lines of handmaidens and royal guards and up the stairway to the castle's entrance. "Right this way, the council is waiting."

Nina looked back at Ethan who was talking with Nichol again about the soldier probably. The anxious grumbling in her stomach lessened. At least Ethan would make sure this guy didn't get too close; she hoped.

"Princess I hope you are noticing the mysterious and artistic decor of castle Ludia," Prince Vahn gushed over-dramatically, extending his arms out as they walked into the castle's main hallway. "My family has favored gothic art and roses for generations. Is it to your liking?"

To appease him, Nina gave the hallway a once around. The style was the same as the outside, except now, portraits of the Ludian family with frames of carved roses lined the walls. What was the big deal? She thought looking back at his expectant face. Wyndia had the same scheme, just brighter and more modern, and there weren't so many lanterns with actual wax candles in them. "It really is an amazing piece of work," she replied smiling and nodding at him, "These carvings of the Goddess are absolutely amazing. It's like shes...actually here or, something..." She bit her bottom lip thinking maybe that was a little too far.

The prince clasped his hands together dramatically and she exhaled. "I knew you would enjoy it! It's a shame, I was going to give you a tour of it before the meeting, but you seem to have your priorities on the right track! I'm glad you at least have enough class to appreciate the bigger picture even by just seeing a little bit," he fawned, leaning in too close to her. She wondered why Ethan wasn't stopping him. He was still talking with the adviser, not paying her a bit of attention.

They reached the Ludian tactics room and Nina was brought inside to a seat at the end of a long table with four older robed men who all had their wrinkled eyes on her sitting around it. She felt her heart beat faster when Prince Vahn placed a hand on her shoulder. "Councilmen, I give you Princess Nina Valentina Wynlan of Wyndia," The prince announced, taking a seat to the left of her and motioning for her to do the same.

Nina bowed and complied. The councilmen continued to stare at her silently, so she smiled as sweetly as she could and pulled out the pamphlet her father gave her.

This was it, her first diplomatic endeavor.

She would start out with something smart, something about the treaty; that was sure to impress them.

Assuming they would eventually want to go over the whole thing, she plopped the huge pack of papers down on the table and opened it to the first page, placing a shaking finger on the first bullet. "Greetings, Ludian councilmen. I am honored to be here to discuss these important matters." She said as articulately as she could, giving another adorable smile.

"Now the first matter of business, I see, is the taxes on produce grown in Wyndian farmlands and shipped over into Ludian territory. I believe that the course of action we should go is..." She felt the prince's dainty hand on her forearm.

"Princess Nina, I'm sorry, but...we've already gone over all of that with your father," he said reaching for her pamphlet and sliding it slowly out from under her bewildered stare, "We're here to discuss the engagement." He handed it off to a soldier behind him who in turn tossed it into a wastebasket behind him.

Nina blinked at him. If her father had already discussed things with him, why was she there? Her eyes glanced over at her at the can on the floor. Did they really just trash her pamphlet?

She pondered "engagement".

The councilman on the other end of the table twisted his long silvery beard around a bony finger and peered at her through thick wire rimmed spectacles. "Sign the papers, princess. That's all we need you to do," he wheezed.

"Excuse me?" she asked looking from the old man to Prince Vahn and then around the room at the rest of the councilmen who were all staring at her with equally intense eyes. "I-I'm sorry, I'm not understanding what's going on here..."

Vahn placed a new paper in front of her that had one long paragraph and then a line at the bottom for a signature. A pen rolled down the paper and bumped her hand as she read aloud.

"Sign here to acknowledge that the treaty of Ludia and Wyndia will only be in full effect when the engagement of Princess Nina Valentina Wynlan of Wyndia and Prince Jonathan Vahn Ludias of Ludia ends in...marriage," she read slowly.

Seconds passed and the words sunk in.

"_Marriage?" _she shrieked standing up and whirling around to Ethan who was leaning against the wall behind her picking at his fingernails. "Ethan! What is this'!'?" He continued on his nails and Nina's stomach fell. "...Ethan?"

Prince Vahn tugged on Nina's arm and shoved the pen into her hand when she turned to him. "Princess, it would be better if you cooperated," he said in a sickeningly sweet voice, "All we need is your signature and everything will be in order. Your quarters will be ready in five days. On the sixth, we'll marry and the treaty will be initiated."

Living with him in five days and married by the sixth? Nina's brain struggled to take everything in.

"I-I-I'm sorry but there has to have been some mistake," she stammered trying to step back. The prince held tight. She felt her legs start to wobble. "I-I didn't agree to anything! I mean...I..." An annoyed flair in his eyes made her think twice about what she was going to say next.

One thing she knew, was that she had to calm down. This was in front of a whole council of important people and the prince of an entire country. One wrong move could send Wyndia deeper into a war it wasn't ready for. She tried desperately to slow her heart by closing her eyes and forcing herself to breathe deeper.

"There's been no mistake, Princess." Vahn said guiding her hand with the pen down to the paper. "You've already been promised to me. Now be a good girl and give me your signature. There's no sense in all of this unnecessary drama."

Promised to him? _Good girl_? Nina's brow furrowed. What was going on? Was she really being forced to agree to _marry _this twerp? Her mind raced while the council's eyes continued to burn holes through her. Her own swiveled back down to the paper.

If she didn't sign it, there was no agreement. She had to somehow get back home without touching it; There had to be some way to talk some sense into her father.

But what would she do?

"Princess, I implore you to think of the welfare of your people." pleaded Vahn, leaning down inches from her, "As well as my own burning desire for you." He added in a whisper only to her, ending with a nip to her earlobe and a squeeze to her hips. It took everything not to slug him.

Ok now Nina _knew _he was a pervert and she wondered how he even thought that was something appropriate to do to a woman he technically just met, nevermind a _princess_.

She continued to resist his now not so gentle hand guidance.

"Princess Nina, I should think this is an easy task," The elderly man to the right of her mumbled in an ornery tone, while picking up a coffee cup and taking a long sip. She shot him a glare.

Maybe if she held her breath for long enough she would pass out.

She exhaled all the breath she could and prayed that because she was the Princess someone would catch her before she killed herself on the side of the table.

"Princess, it is your duty to sign this..."

She tried to count in her head while staring at the paper.

_(...As the future queen of Ludia, Princess Nina will agree to fulfill every wish and desire of Prince Vahn's with no question...)_

Numbers bounced around along a vision of her kicking Vahn in the crotch until he bawled.

Prince Vahn jostled her arm. "Princess, are you listening to me? I need you to sign this paper right..."

His voice faded out and blackness closed in.

The next thing she knew, she was lying on the ground in Ethan's arms. He was gently fanning her face with something, repeating "Princess Nina wake up!" She slowly opened her eyes to see a blurry red mass above her.

"Is she alright? Is my fiance going to be alright?" Prince Vahn's frantic voice floated in.

"Princess...Are you alright? What happened?" Ethan asked softly when she blinked a few times to clear her vision. "Princess Nina...," He pushed her bangs from her face and she stared back at him, thoughts clouded.

Before she could finish thinking the phrase _"what the hell happened_?_"_, memories flooded back at full force and she immediately groaned like she was in pain. The prince ran over and dropped to the floor near her. "What's wrong, my love? Are you ill?" His girlish face came into view.

Nina whimpered and nodded weakly. "I...feel so...weak...," she almost whispered, turning towards Ethan and grasping at his cloak. "Ethan...I want to go home..."

"Alright. " He said putting his arm under her legs and hoisting her up. "Let's get you home, then. Maybe the trip was too much for you; it's been awhile since you've been out of the castle." She tried to hide a blush when he pulled her close; his aftershave smelled _so_ amazing...

"Wait! She has to sign this!" Prince Vahn cried jumping up and snatching the paper off of the table. "I won't have you leave without signing this!" He waved it in front of Ethan.

Nina gave an exaggerated sigh. "Ethan I feel...faint...," she murmured, pretending it was hard to keep her eyes open.

Her guardian shook his head at the prince. "I'm sorry, but we'll have to do this another day. She is in no condition to comprehend anything it looks like. If she is indeed ill, she'll need to get back to Wyndia to rest."

Vahn sighed and returned everything to the table reluctantly. "Alright, make sure she gets well soon. In two days I want her to come back here for lunch and she _will _sign that paper." He ran a hand through his long bangs and Nina closed her eyes completely. "Also, It would be in Wyndia's best interest for her to behave on her next visit," he muttered haughtily.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Ethan bowed sharply.

Nina didn't hear anymore voices until they were outside of the castle and out in the cool wind. Ethan said goodbye to Nichol and Vahn and somewhere in between, she felt a hand caress her face. She was pretty sure she knew who's it was.

"Take care, my love," Vahn whispered in her ear. "I'll see you in a few days."

She was put in the coach and left there to rest as the carriage began its long trip back to Wyndia.

* * *

The entire ride back, Nina didn't dare move. She wanted Ethan to think she was so exhausted that maybe he would mention to her father the day after tomorrow would be a terrible day for her to sign her life away.

She tried to fight back tears forming in her eyes but a few stubborn ones slipped through and ran down her face as her mind raced with thoughts of what the hell she was going to do.

Prince Vahn was a creep and she didn't want to be anywhere near him ever again. She couldn't believe what he had done, even though it occurred to her that in his mind she was probably already his wife. Her fists clenched. Why did this have to happen right when Ethan came back? Did her father do this on purpose? Didn't he know that the only person she had ever wanted to be with _was_ Ethan?

Her watery eyes widened at the end of that thought.

Was that what she really wanted? Did she even know Ethan anymore? How could she feel like she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him?

More tears fell onto the plush seat. "Anything would be better than this...," she muttered bitterly into the fabric.

By the Goddess, her father had a _lot _to answer for.


	2. Chapter 1 part 2

**Chapter One **

_**Part II**_

_Princesses Were Born For Things Like This_

The more Nina thought about things, the angrier she became, and by the time she was home, she forgot all about her "sick" routine, and burst out of the coach in a determined manner daring the gods to stop her. She even pushed passed Ethan who, in awe of her recovery, was trying to ask her if she was alright only to be left outside watching her disappear into the castle.

At this time of day, the king's study at the top of the northern most tower was the place to find him. Before he retired for the night he would typically spend a few hours there, sitting amongst books and nightly news reports listening to his radio while he read and sipped coffee. Nina climbed the many flights of stairs leading there, hoping Ethan was far behind her. The top was nothing but a square of marble to stand on and the door. She glanced quickly behind her down the stairs. Clear. Deep breath. She exhaled and banged her fist against the wood. "Father! It is urgent I speak with you immediately!"

"...Princess?"

There was rustling and the door creaked slowly open. The king stood before her in his bedrobes. She swallowed. Now that she was here in front of him, her anger took a small step towards nervousness. He looked down at her, glanced back at a large wooden clock on the wall. Soft piano music floated past. "Princess, you are back earlier than expected. Is everything alright?" he asked raising bushy eyebrows.

His tone flushed her anxiety back. "What do you mean 'Is everything alright'?" she exploded, balling her fists and backing him into the room. "You're trying to marry me off to some _human _just because he's a prince!"

The King of Wyndia took a deep breath and shook his head, stilling her with his hand. "It's inevitable you would be angry, but it had to be done."

"Angry is an understatement! I _don't _want to marry him!"

He folded his arms behind his back, closed his eyes. "Calm down, princess, I will not have you speak to me like this, even if we are alone."

She didn't care. "Calm down?'! I don't want him anywhere near me! Isn't there something else he can have!'? Give him all the money I have in my savings, all my jewelry, everything, _I don't care!_"

"He would accept nothing but a 'Wyndian angel' to call his own."

"So get him some noble girl! Their wings are the same as mine and any would beg to be married off to a prince!"

"He specifically asked for you."

Nina's head dropped into her hands. Gods why wasn't he _listening_? "It's not fair, Father, I don't want to marry him and I don't want to live with humans! They hate us!" she sobbed, "I didn't sign those papers...I _won't _sign those papers...! Not now and not ever!"

"_Excuse me_?'!"

His hand stung her cheek. She stepped back with her hand on it, meeting his wild eyes with her own.

"What the hell is wrong with you?'!" He seethed, grabbing a hold of her collar and pulling her to his purpling face. "Did Ludia cancel the alliance?'! Answer me you little twit!"

Before she could answer, Ethan appeared in the doorway. "Sire, there's no need to worry. Prince Vahn made another appointment to see her in two days." His gaze flickered to Nina. "If she signs the papers then, he says he will not take any malicious action and everything will proceed as normal."

The king released his hold. He took a deep breath and thrust his hands into the pockets of his robe. "Is that so?"

Nina trembled, tears rolled down her cheeks. "I'm not going back to s-sign it and you aren't going to m-make me!" she vowed through a clenched jaw, watching the veins pop on his forehead again. Things were going to get ugly if she continued like this with Ethan in the room, but she decided her future was well worth it. "I am not going to marry some man I don't know," she said slowly, "I'm not going to throw my life away so we can give ignorant people a reason not to fight!"

"Life isn't fair," said the king simply. "It is unfortunate, but you _will_ go back and sign whatever he wants you to. I will not look like a fool after I've already promised you to him. Is that clear?"

"So that's it. I get no say at all? You're really going to m-make me do this?" A lump in her throat choked out her words.

"Princesses are born for things like this. You're lucky you are as attractive as you are. He told me there wasn't a day where you were not in his mind...ever since he saw you in Ludia as a child," He laughed sharply. "All I had to do was show him your picture once, and he agreed to the alliance within seconds." She stared at him blankly. "It would be a shame to have to resort to threatening my own daughter... If this alliance does not happen, there will be a lot of unrest within the public and, sadly, I don't think I could properly assure your safety."

The weight of his words crushed her. Ethan stood by the door, stone faced.

"Now, I think it would be best if you went to your room and rested up. In a few days you are going to be a very busy woman."

The next thing she knew, she was left standing out in the dark, cold marble stairway, nose inches from his closed door, wondering if the Goddess loved her enough to wake her from this terrible nightmare.

Was that all she was to this country? To him? A piece of property?

Tears took over her vision again, and she rubbed her face hard onto her sleeve. She pulled it away, mascara smeared across it. She regarded it with endearment and sniffed. "I need Chasta..."

* * *

Nina walked back towards her room, expecting to run into her friend on the way like she usually did, but was disappointed when she reached her quarters alone. Where could she have been? It wasn't like tonight was date night...

She hit her palm against her forehead. It _was _date night. Chasta was probably out with that good looking soldier Benjiman from rank six she had been working on recently. She leaned back against the wall and slid to the ground. There was nothing to do but wait. Her face went into her knees.

Not signing the paper had only prolonged her fate. In two days she was going to be in the same situation with the prince as before. She remembered his whispering and shuddered. There had to be some way out of this...someone who could help her...

Should she try running away?

Doing it alone would be out of the question. The two closest countries were Ludia and the Grassland Regions and since Ludia was the last place she wanted to go, it left a place only accessible by passing through one of the Wyndian forests of death.

With Chasta? She shook her head before the thought even ended. Chasta's whole life was here and the castle was her home. If they ran away and got caught (which was highly likely) she would be thrown in the dungeon and executed for sure. Nina would then be married off to Ludia anyways and in no position to stop it and everything would have been for nothing.

A second wave of tears burned her eyes. She wouldn't dare ask Ethan. He had already shown that he didn't care back in Ludia. There wasn't a flicker of surprise when they told her about the engagement; he probably knew about it the entire time.

"Princess Nina," A male voice startled her. She snapped her head up to see Ethan standing over her, concern drawn across his face. "What are you doing out here?"

"E-Ethan!" She hurriedly wiped her eyes and shot him a glare. Why was he there? Did he pity her now that he wasn't in front of anyone? "You know what?" she growled, "You're a _bastard_! You knew about this engagement the whole damn time didn't you-"

Ethan shook his head and opened her bedroom door. "Princess, please allow me to speak with you privately," he said, offering her his hand. Reluctantly she took it and followed him inside.

* * *

"Spirits of the Light, please heed my call," Ancient Wyndian poured from Nina's lips. Tiny orbs of white light circled erratically around her fingers then shot up into the air where they melded together into a single ball. It hovered down before her, its light pulsing gently around her silhouette. With a voice traveling straight into her head, it asked her intentions. "To fill this room with light. The lanterns, please?" she asked gently, giving the ball a smile through tear streaked cheeks. After doing a little twinkling dance of approval, it soared into the air and exploded into three smaller ones each bursting its own lantern to life.

"You actually learned how to talk to sprites?" Ethan praised, looking about her room with his hands resting on his lower back. "Very impressive, there are only a handful of people in Elanaar with that ability." He shifted his weight onto one foot. "It must be because you speak the language of the Fae so naturally."

"Why didn't you tell me about my engagement to the prince of Ludia?"

Ethan's eyes followed her to her bed and watched her plop down on it with a huff. "I only learned of it just before we departed."

"You had plenty of time to fill me in." She unbuckled one shoe and pulled it off.

"If I would have, would it have changed a thing?"

She blinked at the ground, then yanked her other shoe off angrily, blood pulsing at her cheeks. "So what? The point is you are supposed to be my friend...or did you forget about that while you were gone?"

He shook his bright crimson head. "I haven't forgotten a thing."

"You heard what my father said." She tugged the pearls and ribbons out of her hair and threw them hard onto the floor. The tiny pearls bounced on the marble and rolled away under the bed. "I was born to be married off to whoever has the best offer? Do you believe this?"

"Princess..."

She waved a hand at him. "Don't act as though you possibly care, you just stood there while Vahn gushed all over me like an idiot. Who's side are you on, anyways?"

Ethan walked over to the balcony window where moonlight shined through and almost overpowered the soft light of the flickering lanterns. He looked out into the starry night sky for a while before he spoke again. "Princess, I don't expect you to understand the ways of the world; how could you? You've had no experience in it...but we all have to do things in our lives we don't want to do."

She laughed sharply. "Oh _really_? What about you?" He turned to her. "You got to go off to your little assassin guild and become what you've always wanted to be; an amazing fighter just like your father. Tch... you're probably even better than Sir Lucius ever was." Nina felt tears stubbornly fall and she tried to wipe them away before he could see them. "You're right...I did learn how to speak to sprites." Her blonde mane shook slowly. "It's so stupid, Ethan... I tried so hard because I wanted my magic to be stronger... I wanted to be able to fight with you when you got back even though you were supposed to be my guardian, and now what does it all matter?"

"If you think that the AG was a child's game then you need to think again Princess Nina." She looked up, saw he was giving a very serious look. "Some of the best assassins in the world are training right now non-stop, to try and figure out ways to kill you and your family before any of you blink an eye. I had to train, so that I could kill them before _they _blink."

She was sorry for downgrading the AG for his feelings, but she hated it! Maybe if he would have stayed, she could've gotten her father used to him, made him realize _this_ was who she belonged with! Goddess if only he had _stayed._

"Ethan..." She had to bring it up. She swore she wouldn't, but desperate times called for equal measures. "You promised your life to me once...didn't you?"

Was that a tiny blush on his cheeks? No. It had to be a trick of the lantern light.

"If your life really is promised to me...then let's run away...," Nina's voice was barely above a whisper now. "Run away with me someplace where we can be together without any problems, leaps and bounds away from Ludia and Wyndia and anyone who knows of us..."

Anxious eyes stopped for the thousandth time at the scar across his nose.

* * *

"_Nina, can you believe it? In less than an hour I'm going to be an official member of the AG!"_

_The princess let her head dangle off the edge of her bed and watched an upside-down Ethan lift his two swords up over his head into a stance. "Some of the world's most frightening people are in that group," she said, spreading her arms out on the soft pink comforter she was lying on. Long pigtails seeped out from underneath her shoulders and pooled onto the floor. "Are you sure this is safe?"_

_Red orange sunlight from the setting sun streamed in through her balcony window and glinted off of his swords as he jumped and swung them down into a lower position. A smile was beneath his long, crimson bangs. "What safer place is there?" he asked and she sighed, rolling over on her stomach. _

"_Ethan you don't know those people at all! Stop acting like you're some sort of invincible warrior!" _

_The young soldier stood up and sheathed both of his swords on his side, throwing a hurt look her way. "What's with all this worrying? You know better than anyone I'll be fine."_

"_You don't have the sense to watch yourself around them. It's not like they're stage stars, Ethan, these are real live assassins!"_

_Ethan chuckled. "Aww, come on, Nina, stop worrying," He walked over and took a seat on the bed beside her. He touched a finger to her chin and turned her to face him. _"_Listen..." he said locking eyes with her, "The Romans and the Von Buren's have an alliance between them that's spanned over the __course of hundreds years. That's what I meant by 'what safer place'. Hell...they'll probably jump at the chance to protect me from anything I can't handle."_

"_Nothing you say will make me feel any better about it," she said stubbornly, shaking her head. "Dear Goddess, Ethan, ten years is ages..."_

"_Maybe. Won't it be interesting to see how we both turn out?" _

"_No, I want you here! Why can't you train here?'!" _

_Ethan smiled gently. "Must we have this conversation again?"_

"_Yes! As many times_ _as it takes to convince you not to leave!" she cried balling her fists and hitting them against his breastplate. _

"_Nina-" She collapsed into him, sobbing. _

"_I-I've known you for such a long time... Everyday you're always here...Anytime I need someone to talk to...Anytime I need laugh...," she sniffed loudly, hiccuped, "Wh-what am I supposed to do without you for that long? Y-You're my best friend!" She tightened her grip around him. _

_She felt his hand on the back of her head and it made her cry harder. "Nina...," His voice was soft as he took out her hair bands and ran his fingers through her long hair. "When I come back, I'll be unlike anything you have ever seen. I'll train hard...to protect you..."_

_Nina looked up from his chest and sniffed. "But...!" Her face flushed, already flushed from him playing with her hair, deepened in color when he moved his hand to her chin and lifted it up. _

_Dark eyes stared warmly down and long strands of red hair tickled the sides of her face. "I'm coming back to be your guardian until the day you die...," he whispered, lips inches from hers. She was too shocked at his closeness to move or say anything. "I promise my life to you, Princess Nina Valentina Wynlan of Wyndia..." Her chin was lifted more, and his lips pressed against hers. _

_They were soft, gentle, and she never wanted them to leave. She grasped at his shoulders and wings when he kissed harder and felt her own body light on fire when he reached back for hers. _

_After what seemed like an eternity, he finally let her go and stared down at her scarlet face. "E-...Ethan..."_

_He stood suddenly and headed towards the door. "Take care, Princess Nina," he said without turning back. _

_Nina touched her fingers to her lips and shook her head. Did he really think he was leaving so soon after doing something like _that_? "Ethan Von Buren, you stop right there!" she commanded, pointing a finger down at his feet. A twinkling blue beam of light shot from from the tip, and froze his boots solid to the floor._

_"H-hey!" he cried pitching forward into the edge of her vanity dresser. _

_Nina jumped up from the bed."Ohmygods Are you alright? I wasn't thinking!" she dropped to the floor with him and grabbed his shoulders._

_He woozily looked back. A huge chunk of skin was missing from the bridge of his nose. Blood gushed down. The sight of it made her dizzy. "Ethan...I'm so sorry...I didn't mean..."_

_The door burst open and Sir Lucius Von Buren was at their side before Nina could blink. "What the hell is going on here, Ethan? I've been looking all over for you! Why are you in the princess' room? You know better than that! " he hissed at his son. _

_Nina stretched one wing out strategically, and willed the ice on Ethan's boots away._ _"There's nothing to worry about, Sir Von Buren, I was...asking him a question about my classes and he-"_

"_I fell..." Ethan groaned, holding his nose and sitting up. _

_Lucius scrunched his pale, crimson bearded, meaty face in thought, crossed his tree trunk arms. "Ethan doesn't go to your classes...how would he know the answers to any of those questions?"_

_Nina blinked. Her heart raced. "Oh, oh you know, you're absolutely right! I can't believe I forgot!" She hit her palm against her forehead. "_Silly _me!" Lucius continued to raise his eyebrows at the princess as he reached down and grabbed Ethan's cloak collar with a giant hand, lifting him to his feet with ease. _

"_Well we're going to have to get that bandaged up before you go." The burly man sighed, taking his son's arm and dragging him back through the doorway. "You better be lucky it was me who found you in here and not His Majesty. You'd be looking for your head right now!" _

_Nina moved to follow, but Ethan shook his head at her, smiling that wonderful smile of his. Blood seeped out from beneath the hand covering his nose. "See you later..." he mouthed as they turned a corner, and left her sight._

* * *

"It isn't right, Ethan...I'm not supposed to be with that human." Her voice shook and her cheeks burned. "Please, let's run away...I know everything will be alright with you around and I-"

"I am not in any position to do such a thing, Princess Nina."

"Stop calling me 'Princess' Nina all the time! Why can't you just call me by my first name like you used to?"

"Formalities are what are called for when one is as important as you are."

"I don't understand you!" Nina wailed, digging her fingers into her hair. "You told me when you returned you would be my guardian until the day I die... You promised me your life! You...," she flushed and felt more tears coming. "You..."

"I know what I did."

Ethan had been her first and only kiss. Somehow the idea of an incredibly handsome knight off training to be her protector for life killed every other guy's vibe. She would sit and listen to Chasta's tales of dating and marvel at the fact that not one story was as romantic as hers, even in their later years.

After that night, for seven years she couldn't get Ethan Von Buren out of her head, and all she could do was pray he would remember her and his feelings when he came back.

He had changed so much...but maybe that was what happened when you became an adult. You forgot everything about your childhood.

Even though Ethan was only twenty-two, a mere three years older than her, he gave the impression of a _real_ adult...like her father or how Sir Lucius was. She exhaled in frustration and clutched the bottom of her dress.

"Why?" Her stomach was in knots. "Why did you do it if you weren't going to care about what happened to me when you got back?"

Ethan's face went steely and his next words struck her deep. "I did it because I knew when I returned...I would never be able to think about you like that ever again." Nina's lips parted. "You truly are beautiful, Princess," he said, turning to the door. "You turned out to be so much more beautiful than I had ever imagined."

Tears fell. "D-don't go...Ethan you can't let me be married to that guy... He... I don't want to..."

"Goodnight, Princess Nina... I'll see you in the morning."

The door closed and she screamed as hard as she could into her bed's comforter until she was lightheaded.

This was it. Her life in Wyndia was going to be over in less than a week.

She lifted a wobbling head and eyed the balcony. Fresh air...

Moonlight streamed in through the tall doors she approached, sending her dress into a glittering frenzy. She looked down at it and scowled, knowing that even though it was exquisite, she was going to think of it from now on as the most unlucky garment ever.

The doors opened and the dress went to the floor.

Strong winds whistled by and Nina felt the soft satin fabric of her knee length slip ripple across her skin. Her hair was sent flowing and her wings stretched. From what she saw, castle Ludia had no towers that were remotely as tall as these, so that meant there was no telling when she would feel winds like this again. She sprinted down her balcony, hopped up at the end and kicked off of the railing. Her wings billowed back as they caught wind and propelled her into the air.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky, just bright stars lighting up the heavens and the best view of Elanaar's blue and green moons the planet had to offer. She hovered in one place high above the castle, taking it all in along with the sea of moonlit flowers swaying serenely below.

"I'm going to miss you, Wyndia..." she mouthed softly, winds whipping at her hair.

* * *

"So you're gonna come back with me to the barracks, yeah?"

"Oh _stop _it, I am _so _not that kind of girl!"

Chasta hit her small black handbag against a young, shaggy black haired solder's breastplate and giggled.

"Aww come on, Chas... It'll be alright...," he smirked, adding in a low voice near her ear. "And I've heard from a few of the soldiers that when asked correctly, you _are _that kind of girl." He reached for her hand, she pulled away.

"Not tonight, the princess has class in the morning." She giggled again when he tried once more. "Sto~p!"

He sighed loudly, "Fine! Well...can I have a kiss then at least?"

Chasta giggled again. "Alright, alright, but that's _it,_" she said walking close and letting him wrap his arms around her.

"Maybe afterwards you'll change your mind."

"You're so stubborn!" she laughed and jumped up, throwing her arms around his neck. "I guess I'll be nice this time..."

Something glinted in the corner of her eye and she looked past Benjiman's incoming face at a bench near the main courtyard fountains.

A blonde girl in a slip and a glittering diamond choker, sat on it with her head down.

"_Nina_?" She jumped out of the soldiers arms and steadied him when he stumbled.

"What's your problem?" he snapped.

"I'm sorry, I have to go. I'll find you later!" she cried bounding off.

"Chas!" he called. Quickly realizing his date wasn't coming back, he cursed and turned to go back inside. Before leaving though, he made sure to get a good eyeful of the princess' lacy attire.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" Chasta cried running over to friend's hunched figure and grasping its shoulders.

Nina looked up and broke a smile from ear to ear.

"_Chasta!"_

* * *

"So...tell me again why you're sitting out here alone in your unmentionables?" Chasta asked reaching into her slightly unbuttoned uniform top for a cigarette. "I couldn't understand a word you were saying earlier through all that hiccuping." She brought it to overly glossed red lips and lit it with a spark from her finger. "Something about Ludia and you hate humans?" The tip glowed bright when she took a drag.

Beside her on the bench, bathed in the soft orange light of the lantern post above her, Nina rubbed her face with her forearm and cast a puffy red eye over. "I thought you were s'posed to be quitting." Her body jolted with a hiccup.

"We aren't talking about me, we're talking about you!" Chasta retorted defensively. "_You're _the one that needs to explain herself! What are you doing out here at almost midnight in your damn panties?" She pulled at one of the slip's tiny straps and let it snap back on the princess's milky white shoulder.

Nina stared blankly at the ground. "It's not my _panties _it's a slip..."

A thin stream of smoke seeped from Chasta's lips, she crossed her black fishnet covered legs. On date nights, she would stray from the normal maid's uniform she wore during the day and usually donned things that made her look like a - Nina tried to think of something nice- _high class _call girl. "Your father is really going to blow his top if he finds out you're out here. Benjiman saw you and he's a bigger gossip than _I _am..."

"I don't give a _damn _what my father thinks!" Nina spat, staring hard at her tears splashing on the tiny different shades of gray stones that made up the courtyard walkways.

Wisps of smoke floated past. "Don't tell me you started another fight with him... What's it about this time? I'm sure it's really nothing to be out here crying about-"

"He's marrying me off to Ludia!" Nina wailed, laying her head on her legs. Her arms followed suit and went limp beside her.

Chasta's mouth dropped open, the cigarette dangled on the edge. "Wow..._really_?" she breathed, "You're really truly serious?"

"Truly really," Nina's voice was muffled by her legs.

"So _that's_ why you were asked to go to Ludia instead of the King..." Chasta flicked ashes onto the ground. "Wooooow..."

"I hate this... I want to run away..."

"What the hell did Ethan have to say about it?"

Nina turned her head, her watery eyes seemed set on nothing. "Nothing. Not a godsdamn thing."

She reached into her purse and pulled out a few tissues. "Tell me what happened in Ludia." she said handing them to Nina who sat up slowly and began dabbing at her eyes. "Did he ask you to marry him as soon as he saw you?"

The princess wondered what kind of mascara mess she must've looked like while talking to Ethan when the tissue came back filthy. "Not in so many words," she sniffed, pushed her damp bangs to the side. "I met the Prince as soon as I arrived..." she waved her hand, "by the way he has a nice looking adviser around our age, thought you'd like to know that."

"You're right, I _would_ like to know that. What about the Prince? He was voted most handsome bachelor or human or something in the Eastern Kingdoms in the news remember? He didn't look too bad in it."

Nina shook her head.

"What, what's the deal?"

"He looks like a woman up close!"

Chasta stifled a laugh. "Yeah, I guess he _was _a little pretty."

"He's _too_ pretty and he's a lecherous _ass_." Nina grumbled.

Her friend gasped, "He made moves on you? You just met!"

The princess rolled her eyes. _"Precisely." _

"Tell me everything!" Chasta chirped clasping her hands together. "And what about Ethan and the carriage ride? Did anything happen?"

"I'm glad this is all so entertaining for you." Nina sighed, standing and walking forward a few feet to the edge of the courtyard with her head down.

Chasta followed. "Come on Nina, you know I'm not trying to upset you! You're my friend and I care about the things that happen to you! Especially when it involves you and guys!"

The princess peered over the outer wall at the sleeping city of Wyndia below, winds blowing her long hair to the side and out of her face. "Hmph, you just want all of the other handmaidens to think more of you because you know the _real_ reason behind the princess' breakdown," She mused darkly, Chasta snorted.

Castle Wyndia was built into a mountain, with it's seemingly heaven bound towers extending over the highest points and the lower part melding into the foothills and the city. The courtyard was fashioned on a plateau-like structure jutting out from the middle and was lined with a waist height stone wall. There was a decent view of the city here. She gazed fondly at the tiny houses below, some with their lights still on, and wished she could be like their inhabitants; nameless, faceless, and completely ignored by the royal family.

"Politics...huh..." she muttered when Chasta stood beside her.

The brunette nodded and put her cigarette to her mouth. "We always knew this might happen."

Nina crossed her arms on the wall and leaned her chin on them. "And why wouldn't I be prepared? Weren't my parents an arranged marriage?"

Chasta nodded. "I figure most royal unions work that way."

"How stupid of me to ever entertain the idea of Ethan and I, you know?"

The handmaiden shifted her weight to one side. "You're a romantic. That's what they do."

"Yeah, well what does it matter now? In two days I'm signing myself away to the humans. I'll never see him again."

"You have to go back?" She told her what happened in Ludia. "That's all good and dandy but why stall if you're going to have to sign it anyways?"

"I figured I could talk some sense into father, but that ended up being a giant waste of time." Nina stood up straight. "He doesn't care and neither does Ethan."

"Yeah, what's with Ethan?" She trailed behind Nina along a flower lined pathway into the inner courtyard sitting in the middle of four large orange flowered trees.

"Apparently his dedication to the royal family is far more important than whatever he feels about me..._if _there's anything."

Chasta stepped in front of her, "You mean to tell me you actually confronted him?"

Nina flushed and averted her eyes. "Maybe."

"Well, spit it out! What did you talk to him about? You asked him to run away with you didn't you?" Chasta cried putting her hands on her hips.

"Nothing happened," she pushed past the handmaiden.

They reached the center of the courtyard where an elaborate koi pond lay tucked within a bed of white lilies; one of Nina's mother's favorite flowers. The sound of gurgling water echoed as they neared the five tiered smooth stone fountain it originated from. Lanterns hanging from the trees cast their pale haze over the area, sparkling the backs of hundreds of fish swimming lazily.

"_Something_ happened!"

Nina dunked a bare foot into the cool water. Fish frantically scattered. "I told him I didn't want to marry that idiot and I wanted him to take me away."

"See, romantic!" Chasta gasped.

Nina scowled. "Only if he would have said yes...all he did was tell me he 'wasn't in a position to do such a thing'." She kicked at a lily pad in the water and more fish fought to get away from her.

"Well he's right, I guess he's not." Chasta flicked ashes into the air. "If you were to run away and get caught, he would get executed and you would still have to marry the prince. At least this way Ethan stays alive."

"Is it selfish to say I don't care about the consequences?"

"Yes!"

"Well Vahn's _creepy!_" Some fish dared to venture forward and nibble at her toes. She yelped and pulled her foot from the water. "How can someone look at me for a few seconds and think 'Ok I'm done looking now, this is what I want for a wife.'?"

"You're the Princess of Wyndia, Nina, not some dog off of the street."

"It doesn't matter!" Nina cried, "I want a say in my own damn life! If I could choose to start over and be a poor, no status civilian, I would!"

"No you wouldn't, you love to fly. You'd lose your wings if you did that," Chasta said pointing back to her tiny blue ones that looked more like as accessory than a body part. "I can't even hover with these babies."

"Do you honestly think they're going to let me use these?" Nina asked fluttering the tops of hers. "Watch, they'll never let me go outside for fear I'd run away or something."

"Now that wouldn't be fair."

"But I _would _run away."

A fish jumped. Fresh tears traveled down Nina's cheeks. "I'm really going to miss you, Chasta..."

"Hey, hey don't start talking like that now...you have a good few months or so before you have to go, right?"

Nina shook her head, scowling down at the fish. "The Prince said I'm to leave within the week."

"_This _week?" Chasta tossed her cigarette to the ground, stomped on it, and threw her arms around the princess's trembling form. "Nina are you serious? You're going to be gone in just a few days?" she sobbed into her back.

Nina bit her bottom lip and, forgetting she had no shoes on, kicked the side of the stone fountain as hard as she could. Chasta jumped back when she screamed and dropped to the ground holding her foot. "You've got to stop kicking things, Nina..." The handmaiden sniffed and fanned her eyes with her hands, "One day you're going to break something and get into a lot of trouble."

"Damnit...! I think I broke my toe!" Nina wailed rocking back and forth, cradling her throbbing foot.

Chasta walked over to where she had kicked and bent down. "Hey, I know you don't want to hear this...but I think you broke the fountain."

"...What?" Nina grit her teeth and sucked in her breath. "Agh, it really really hurts!"

"Well don't be an idiot and kick things with your bare feet." Chasta said getting on her hands and knees and inspecting the fountain closer. "Gods, Nina...how did you chip this with your _toe_?"

The princess winced and let go of her foot carefully so she could join her friend on the ground. "Oh you're kidding me, I really did that?" On the bottom stone where it met the grass, a decent sized chunk had come off. Nina grabbed it and tried to shove it back into place.

"You're going to break it more if you keep that up."

"How about you help me out here instead of being a smart ass?" Nina snapped, "I don't need anymore trouble tonight."

"I thought you didn't give a _damn_ what your father thought?"

Nina shot a look that could kill and Chasta waved her hands in front of her. "Alright, alright, please don't get angry! Of course I'll help you try to fix this!" She bent down and eyed the crack. "You might have to...jam the jagged side of it in the ground right here in front of the crack so and maybe it'll look like it's part of the fountain. I mean it's already a bunch of rocks, the other side has some smaller ones on the ground near it."

The princess' glare morphed into a smile. "Yes! Thank you, that sounds like a good idea! See? That's why I needed you to be serious for a second." Nina grasped the rock with both hands and raised it high above her head.

Chasta crossed her arms and gave a smug look. "That's right! I'm always there when it counts, and I-"

She didn't have time to finish. The ground gave away on impact with Nina's rock and the princess plummeted into darkness.

* * *

"...ina...!"

"...Nina...!"

"...Please answer me!"

Nina groaned and rolled over onto a bunch of stones and dirt.

"Nina! ...Nina please!"

Far above her, someone was calling out her name, she couldn't comprehend who. "...what?" she croaked, spitting out something chalky. She tried to pull herself to her knees, collapsed. An icepick was digging into the back of her skull.

The voice continued to scream at her until finally her brain registered it was Chasta. Her eyes fluttered open and took in darkness. She breathed in, coughed out some more dust and attempted again to get up. This time her limbs decided to obey and she was to her knees without too much effort. She grasped the side of her face, felt something warm and wet. It occurred to her she didn't know exactly how injured she was. Panic rose when she felt liquid trickle off her chin, but she figured if she was thinking this clearly, then she was probably alright. Her fingers swept away at debris on her slip while she tried not to think about the condition of her legs when she felt more liquid drip from her knees.

"Ni~na! Answer me!" The princess coughed again and craned her neck. High above her was a small hole with moonlight streaming through; the only light she could see in the entire room. Chasta's head dangled there, her long black cross necklace swinging back and forth while she cried out desperately for her.

"I'm alright!" Nina managed to cry back as she tried again to stand. Her legs were being stubborn again.

"Dear _Goddess_, Nina why didn't you answer sooner? I thought you were _dead_!"

"Well...I'm not...!" She slowly got to her feet and wobbled, wincing at the pain of putting weight on her still aching foot. "I hit my head pretty hard though...I think I blacked out."

"Come into the light so I can see you!" Chasta cried and then squealed when more of the ground near her hands gave away.

Nina cautiously limped forward, praying there was nothing sharp on the floor until she was right underneath the hole. She looked up at her friend and the handmaiden gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. "Y-you're bleeding!"

She was probably talking about her head. The princess decided to use the light to assess any other injuries. Her knees were pretty scuffed up but not as bad as she had thought. Her slip was torn at the bottom; not much of an emergency. She really only had to worry about her head. "Yeah...I know...I don't think it's..._too_ bad though."

"Wo~w," Chasta whistled looking around. "Nina, you fell a loonnng way. Are you alright to fly up?"

Nina spread her wings and felt a sharp pain shoot through the left one. "I-I don't think so...," she winced. "I must have landed on one of them."

"Well, wait there...I'll go find someone!" Chasta cried, jumping back from the hole.

"Okay...," Nina sat back down on a relatively clean spot on the floor.

What a weird place to have a room, she thought looking around her into the darkness holding her foot. Why would there be a room underneath the courtyard anyways?

She watched the hole in the ceiling restlessly for any signs of movement for several minutes. It was going to take Chasta forever to find someone, she knew.

One night a week, the younger soldiers would either goof off in the barracks or ask the help out for drinks in the city; it was the same reason why Chasta's date night was this particular night. The courtyard and the middle of the castle were usually guarded by these same soldiers; all the serious ones were posted at the gates and outside of the royal family's quarters, and there was no telling where Ethan would be at this hour either.

She flinched. Even her mind mentioning his name brought a stab of pain to her chest.

"Spirits of Light, please heed my call." Tiny specks of light shimmered in the air around her hand and formed into a single spark dancing in front of her head. "Thank you," she smiled. It twinkled in response. She would look around. Hopefully this place was interesting enough to push him from her mind.

The sprite's glow spread out before her, and she realized it was.

It was now easy to see that she had indeed fallen into a room. It was huge and made of very old looking, crumbling, dark gray stone. The ceiling was domed, she had fallen in near the center of it. Vines attacked the interior of the room in every which way, snaking up the walls and dangling from the ceiling, casting eerie shadows as the sprite darted about at her will. In front of her feet lay a white marble aisle looking very similar to the one in her throne room along with rows and rows of the same kinds of benches lining either side of it. "What is this place...?" she asked aloud, standing up slowly. Pain shot up from her foot and she looked down.

Underneath her now swollen, black and blue toe – which she regarded for a moment with extreme disgust – was some sort of black writing covered in a thick layer of dust. She swept a little away with her good foot. "Beni tu..." She swallowed. "...Ancient Wyndian...?"

She knelt down and cleaned the rest of the dust off with her hand, struggling to read the heavily worn words. "In-," She squinted her eyes and ran her fingers over the intricate calligraphy. "Here...lies...an ancient..." The last word was destroyed by a vine that had come through the stone. She sent the spark farther down and saw that there was more. "...vengeful..." she murmured, curiosity piquing as she hobbled along, trying hard not to pay attention to her foot throbbing with every heartbeat. "Dark soul...of the..."

At the end of the writing, there was a man dangling from a statue of the Goddess towering high over her. She shrieked and jumped back.

Did she really hit her head that hard or was there actually a man in front of her, strapped to a holy statue?

The spark darted forward at her mental command and highlighted more vines that looked as though they had burst through the wall to get at him. She swallowed hard, stepped carefully forward. Was he dead? She stared at his darkened face, hidden by wild hair. He wasn't moving and by the looks of all the dust and debris around, she didn't think anyone had visited this place in a very long time.

Her eyes flickered to a pillar at his left, broken low enough that she could climb onto it and get a better view.

She shook her head hard, cursing herself silently. Did she just think about getting _closer _to this horrible thing? What if he _was _dead?

Her eyes went from him to the pillar and then back again, her heart pounding loudly her ears. She stood for a long time studying him from a distance, wondering why she was having so much trouble convincing herself this was a bad idea.

"Maybe one little look...," she said so low she wasn't sure it had even come from her.

So that was it, the decision was made?

She limped cautiously forward to the pillar and pulled herself onto it taking care to watch her bum foot. Her body went rigid at the top and her eyes glued to the wall beside him. She was afraid - now that she was up actually there - to stare a corpse in the face. Judging from the way the vines around him were lined with cobwebs and the overwhelming smell of - the only word she could use to describe it was _age -_ filling her nostrils, she knew he had to be dead.

But still...she wanted to look!

Slowly, defiantly, her eyes traced dust coated vines down to his ashen face.

He was probably around Ethan's age, she discovered in surprise, with long, dark blue hair cascading down his shoulders almost to his waist. The expression he wore spoke to her in a way she was almost frightened to try and understand.

She glanced behind him quickly, attempting to divert her thoughts from it, and her eyes widened. No wings. He was _human_? She stood staring at him in a new light.

There wasn't a single human in Wyndia and there hadn't been for over a decade. So why...?

"Why would someone want to lock a human up in the middle of castle Wyndia in such a violent looking manner?" she asked herself softly, resisting an urge to touch the man's intensely determined brow. Was he put here against his will to die alone and forgotten...or was he a criminal? How long had he been trapped here before his end?

The vines around his neck dug deep into his gray tinted skin. Nina's spark flew down his outstretched body, her head inclined as she followed it. He was wearing Wyndian soldier armor she had only seen in textbooks. The only difference was this man was wearing a rather over-sized tattered dark crimson scarf cloak with a rusted metal serpent pinning it on his left side. The vines molded into his armor wherever they had grasped it, apparently, with a lot of force. The statue he was tied to was also different. This one portrayed the Goddess as she was in early times; one of war and wrath. She was raising a sword high in the air to smite anyone in her way, mouth wrenched open in a battle cry.

Nina's head throbbed and she cradled it. What in the world was she looking at?

Something white caught her eye in the folds of his collar and she felt the same odd curiosity from earlier poke and prod at her. Before she knew it, she had already plucked out a small, rolled up white piece of parchment tied with a thin silver ribbon.

It was wrong to take things from dead people, she knew, but as she held it in her hands, the silver ribbon glinting in the light of her spark, she couldn't shake a feeling that it had called out at her, begging to be found and read. She held it up, barely touching shaking fingers to one of the ribbon's tails.

A last will, maybe? A letter to a loved one? His entire story could be on this one piece of paper...

The pounding of her heart was deafening in her ears as she untied the ribbon slowly. She let the paper roll out in front of her.

Blank.

She turned it over and over in her hands, pondering the reason for a blank piece of paper on a corpse and was about to crumple it up, when suddenly words began searing themselves into the parchment with a loud hiss that startled her. She stared at it saucer-eyed, her mind's voice repeatedly trying to convince her she wasn't going mad. Beautiful ancient Wyndian calligraphy curled across the paper and her lips moved without her brain telling them to do so. "Protect my soul, for you belong to me..."

The paper burst into flames in her hands and she dropped it, squealing. "What the-" she cried stamping on part of it on the pillar with her good foot and watching the rest of its smoldering remains drift to the floor. "What the hell is-"

Gravity abruptly changed for her core, and she fell to her knees clutching at her chest. Her heart suddenly felt ten times heavier than her own body weight; it pulled her mercilessly down to the pillar with more force than she could fight. Her spark hovered before her, frantically asking in her mind if she was alright. She shook her head sharply, cold sweat drenching her. Then, as quickly as it came, the pressure lessened and she was able to stand again. She patted dust from wobbling knees and wiped the water from her brow with a violently shaking hand.

There was a faint noise coming now from the corpse. She turned slowly. Was he..._breathing_?

Inching closer, she could see his chest was, sure enough, rising and falling slowly as if he were asleep. "S-Sir...," she stammered nervously, getting close enough now to see his dust covered eyelids twitching. Color rushed back into his face at a remarkable rate, until his skin was a deep tan before her astonished eyes. "A-are you...alrig-"

Yellow eyes with slits for pupils opened slowly and swiveled to her.

She barely had time to think before a bandaged arm burst out of the vines and shot forward. The hand connected to it clamped tight to her neck. Frightening eyes bulging, he swung her body out in front of him like a doll. Her hands flew to his, clawed desperately to pry off his vice-like grip. He clenched his teeth, longer than normal canines glinted in the sprite's light as he squeezed her mercilessly. "_I'll kill you for what you've done to me...,_" seethed the most hate filled voice she had ever heard. She didn't discriminate with her feet; both flew out and attacked his breastplate.

Through the agony of her bad foot hitting metal and of her neck being slowly crushed, the back of her mind registered he had spoken in ancient Wyndian.

He growled and peered at her through long stringy bangs, breathing through his teeth like an animal. Appendages began to tingle, she knew she was close to passing out. Lungs burning, she dragged her hands onto his forearm and concentrated as hard as her panicking mind would let her. Ice crystals formed on his bandages around her fingers, crackling and popping as they spread slowly up his arm.

His breathing slowed and his eyes darted to the ice. With an incline of his head and as much warning as he had given in grabbing her, he relinquished his grip. She crumpled to the ground coughing and wheezing.

Heart racing, she immediately backed up against a nearby pillar, watching owlishly him regarding the ice with a strange interest as it crawled closer to his shoulder. Was he so stupid he was going to allow it to encase him? she thought clutching her foot. She hoped to the Goddess he was.

The outer edges of his arm began to glow red and he flexed. The ice burst into tiny bits of water and steam in the air.

What _was _this guy?

She continued to stare in awe as he tore the rest of his limbs from the vines and dropped to the ground, definitely _not _encased in ice. Her stomach did a vicious flip when he looked her way and she tried desperately to think of what to do next. Under normal circumstances, she figured could have thought up a much better spell to fight him, but it was taking all she had not to scream and writhe from the pain in her toe and her neck where his fingers had driven her choker into her skin.

A low growl erupted from him when he raised his arms and stretched. His hands went to his lower back and he bent backwards in almost a full arc. The sound of his spine popping echoed throughout the huge room. Sweat beaded on her forehead.

He evaporated her ice like it was nothing. Was he just casting a fire spell she couldn't see? An aura that seemed to pulse and pull at her very soul was emanating from him. It had to be her head injury.

He continued to stretch and she glanced up at the hole in the ceiling for a split second. It was taking Chasta _way_ too long to find help. When her eyes returned, he was gone.

Now she was really scared.

She pressed her back against the column harder. The light sprite twinkled excitedly around her face. Fear limited movement to her eyes shifting back and forth.

What did the floor try to tell her earlier? An ancient, dark, vengeful...what? Monster? She swallowed a thick lump forming in her throat. Would Wyndia really be holding a monster right in the middle of the castle?

The sprite's twinkling became louder and it suddenly darted upwards. Her eyes followed and her breath caught in her throat.

Reptilian-like ones stared back down at her through tangled navy hair and she felt the blood drain from her face.

Above her, the sprite danced erratically around his head twinkling out warnings. He snorted and snatched it out of the air faster than Nina could follow. She watched in horror him clasp his hands and squeeze. Glowing golden smoke seeped from between his fingers, illuminating a murderous grin as it floated by.

The shadows closed in and Nina screamed.

"Princess Nina! Are you alright!"

Her head jerked back at the sound of Ethan's voice.

Lantern light shined down into the room. Her guardian descended. "Chasta told me you fell into here...are you alright? I heard you screaming!"

Nina stood up quickly and winced. "Where is he? ….Where the hell is he?" she cried throwing her head wildly from side to side.

"Where is who, Your Highness?"

"There was a guy, a m-monster...! He...he...he tried to kill me!" The back of her head throbbed. She lost her footing. Ethan steadied her.

"I saw no one in here. Are you sure you're alright? Your head is bleeding pretty bad," his voice sounded so very far away.

"He tried...He tried..." She leaned against him and felt her eyelids and body get heavy, "He tried to...kill...me..."

She collapsed into his arms and darkness once again welcomed her.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_It's a Pleasure To Meet You_

**For too long, I have slept, dreaming of the time I would once again lay eyes upon the mortal world...**

Nina opened her eyes and shadows poured in. The air around her was thick enough to hold her slender body up without the use of her wings. She stretched limbs into nothingness.

**Keeper of the vessel's soul, heed my call.**

A voice resembling granite grinding against itself resonated unnervingly in her skull. She shuddered, feeling slightly violated, as if the voice was speaking to her from within her own soul, if that was even possible.

"Who's there...?" Her strained voice echoed off of invisible walls.

A dot of light appeared far ahead of her, looking like a tiny star in a vast empty universe, and before she could contemplate its existence, it rushed forward and became a brilliant flash that overtook everything. Completely blinded and feeling gravity slowly start to kick in through the now tangibly thinning atmosphere, the princess fought to spread her wings to no avail; they felt glued to her back. She steered her mind away from the strange voice. Why weren't her wings working? Was she suddenly going to plummet to a gruesome, splattering death?

Panic barely had time to manifest, for the bottoms of her feet soon smacked against ground and she found herself fighting for balance on what thankfully felt like a hard, stable surface. She stood slowly on shaking legs. Warmth bathed her skin along with a breeze carrying a strikingly familiar floral scent. Birds chirped. She rubbed stinging eyes.

"Hello Nina, my dear."

Her vision adjusted to what she realized was sunlight blaring at her, and slowly rearranged the blurry mass appearing in front of her into Ethan's tall form, covered completely in his glittering ceremonial armor. Her jaw dropped. "E-Ethan? What in Elanaar are you doing-," she glanced quickly around her and concluded with surprise they were standing outside on her balcony. "-out...here...and wearing _that_?"

Glinting gauntlets grasped both sides of his sparkling helmet and removed it, uncovering a crooked smile that made her heart jump. "You say that, yet you stand before me like so," he mused, pointing at her. She glanced down and felt her stomach drop when she realized she was dressed in only a slip.

She flung her arms over her lace covered front and averted her eyes to the ground, face a furnace of embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry," she stammered nervously, trying to figure out exactly what would possess her to do such a humiliating thing. At the least it was one of her longer ones. "H-how c-completely inappropriate of me..." Her brow furrowed. When did she agree to see him alone like this again?

She didn't remember, and almost missed his next remark stewing in her own thoughts. "Now, I didn't say I minded, did I?" His voice was velvety smooth, and it threw her off guard.

She watched in a stupor him set his intricately designed winged helmet on the balcony railing and make his way toward her, still wearing that amused smile. Somewhere in between her gawking, Nina's mind did a slight rewind. "...Hold on...you called me 'Nina' just now...didn't you?"

She yelped in surprise when he scooped her up into his arms effortlessly. The clean smell of his aftershave clouded her thoughts when he leaned in close. "Nina, I wanted to tell you I've decided to take you up on your offer."

"But you said yesterday-" She was interrupted by his lips on hers and any further doubt of him melted away. Vaguely, she felt herself being carried inside and out of the wind as she gave into his gentle caresses, every kiss bringing a torrent of relief over her. He really _did _love her after all, and he was going risk everything to be with her. Thank the Goddess she would never have to set eyes on Prince Vahn again!

Her wings and back sank into something soft and her eyes fluttered open to see Ethan's face against a background of white lace canopy. He pulled away slowly, flashing a dazzling smile as he took off his gauntlets and dropped them – Nina was perplexed to see very carelessly - to the floor, before his fingers flew to unhook the thick dark leather straps holding his massive shoulder armor and breastplate in place. His heavy ivory cloak slipped out from around his neck and collected by his gauntlets when he removed the other armor pieces to reveal a pale, severely toned upper body the princess couldn't tear her eyes from.

Why wasn't she stopping him? Sure, he was gorgeous and it was _Ethan_, but was she really ready to...

Plate clattered noisily to the floor and he leaned down almost over her, pushing her hair back from her face and tracing fingers over rosy cheeks. "Nina...," Him using her name like that brought chills down her spine that weren't necessarily bad. His smile widened when he felt her shudder and he leaned even closer, sending her heart into another frenzy. "You are so beauti-"

Blood speckled across Nina's face and torso as a sword tip suddenly burst through the left side of Ethan's chest and buried itself deep within the mattress inches away her. It twisted sharply, and the hand on her face fell, smacking against her shoulder and dragging its fingers against her arm on the way down. She stared at his eyes rolling back in his head, brain attempting in vain to register what had just happened.

A dirty greave stomped on Ethan's back before it made sense and her damp eyes darted upward through his wings to see _him _staring back at her, wild navy hair hanging in scraggly strands over those petrifying eyes. Her mouth opened and closed wordlessly, tears welled up and blocked her vision.

The barbarian smirked and flicked his tongue over his lips before grasping the jeweled hilt of Ethan's sword with both hands and ripping it violently out. Feathers scattered in the air, more blood splattered the bed and floor as Nina watched, frozen in fear, him kick her guardian's lifeless body to the ground without a shred of remorse. With one wet _swoosh, _he swung the sword and decorated her room with yet another splash of crimson. His attention returned to her. She chanced a look at the still dirtied blade, mind riddled with visions of him stabbing it into her wherever he could find flesh. He dropped it. She gasped.

And then he was directly in front of her face; she wasn't clear on his travel there. Her limbs were immovable globs of lead as she struggled to get away from him. Her terror-stricken eyes swiveled to Ethan's mangled corpse, sprawled unnaturally across the marble within a growing pool of sickening red, then back to the intruder when he grasped her hair tight in a dirty, bandaged hand and made her do so. She hyperventilated as the metallic scent of blood..._Ethan's _blood, threatened to consume her.

"Greetings, little royal blooded Wyndian," The navy haired demon rasped in perfect ancient Wyndian, inhumanely long canines peeking out from underneath his top lip as he spoke. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He yanked her head back and used those same canines to tear out her throat.

* * *

"Nina! Nina, wake up!"

Sleep's grip angrily loosened, and Nina was torn from it by a vigorous shaking of the shoulders from Chasta. "Nina, whatever it is...it's just a dream! Please, stop screaming!"

There was a high pitched wail pushing the princess' eardrums to the limit, it took her a moment to realize it was coming from her. Like a rubber band pulled taut inside her head, Nina's mind snapped back to the present and she sat rigid in her bed, clamping her mouth tight. She grabbed at her throat, harrowed eyes fixated on the wall across the room. Sweat soaked clothes clung to her.

Good. She still had it.

Beside her on the bed, Chasta sighed loudly and fell back onto the comforter. "You scared the _hell _out of me!" she moaned, rolling over, putting her face into a pillow, "And here I was, thinking I could get some sleep before the sun came up..."

Nina ignored her, trying to piece the events of last night and her dream together unsuccessfully in her muddled mind, staring at small blotches of light being projected onto the wall from the now rising sun.

One thing she did know for sure was that everything in that dream had felt immensely, scarily, _real_.

Ethan's touch, his smell, his...blood...

The top of her head throbbed like someone had really yanked at her hair. What the hell did _that _mean?

Chasta cast a weary, eyeliner smudged eye up at her. "Nina...are you alright? You're shaking like a leaf." The princess was now rubbing her head gently with trembling hands, praying silently that the soreness was her mind playing a joke on her, completely deaf to her friend. "Nina," said Chasta, and was again ignored. "_Nina!_" Nina flinched, gave a blank stare in response. "Geez, that must have been some dream," the handmaiden murmured, bringing her hand up to her mouth to cover a vicious yawn. "Between worrying about you and that damn earthquake, I didn't get a wink of sleep all night!" She poked at the skin underneath her eyes and groaned. "I probably have _hideous _bags now..."

"E-earthquake?" Nina found an extremely hoarse voice. She cleared her throat loudly.

"Yeah, it shook the whooole castle!" Chasta sat up and spread her arms out for emphasis. "But, strangely, it didn't damage any other place except that weird room you fell in. Ethan took some guys down there to clean up the koi pond, because it had fallen completely in - and to check out what that room was all about - but all they found was an old throne with an ancient as dirt broken statue of the War Goddess on the floor under a bunch of busted benches and torn up vines," she said in one excited run. Breathing always took second place to Chasta conveying juicy information.

The fog of grogginess lifted from Nina's mind in an instant, and the pieces of her memory started fitting together. The room, the writing, the statue and..._him. _

She kicked off her covers and leaped out of bed. "We need to find Ethan, _now._" She scrambled to get her feet into a pair of pink slippers she pulled from underneath her bed.

"What? Ethan? Why Ethan?" Chasta made a face at Nina cursing and hopping back and forth on one foot while jamming a slipper on the other.

There was no way an "earthquake" destroyed that room, Nina thought, searching for her robe. It had to have been that guy. She pulled it out from being wedged in the corner of a chair by her bed and shook it out before jamming her arms into the sleeves.

"Nina, tell me what the _hell_ you're going on about! You're running around like a madwoman!"

Nina tugged at the front of the terry cloth garment until her wings popped through holes in the back. "After you left to go find help, I went exploring," she said, running to her dresser and taking out a hair band from a drawer full of accessories. "There was all kinds of writing on the floor, talking in old tongue about something 'vengeful' being held there."

Chasta's reflection stood and crossed its arms in the mirror. "Nina, what're you-?"

"I followed the writing to..._something _resembling a human guy strapped to that War Goddess statue." Nina pulled her hair into a messy ponytail on the top of her head, trying to ignore Chasta's incredulous stare. "I don't know how, Chasta, but I woke up a monster, and we have to tell someone before he attacks anyone else!"

"Seriously, Nina, what are you babbling about? You couldn't have seen anyone, Ethan said that place hadn't been touched in probably six hundred or so years! Attacked by some monster? In the middle of Wyndia? Gods, I didn't think you hit your head _that _hard!"

Nina whirled to faced her. "I'm _not_ lying! That bastard tried to strangle me! There must be marks from it!" she cried, pointing furiously at her neck where she thought they would be and wondering slightly why she couldn't feel them anymore.

Chasta shook her head and sighed. "Nothing, Nina, there's nothing there. I called Lisele up here to heal you the moment Ethan got you out. You should have no injuries at all...apart from the mental ones you seem to have acquired," she muttered the last part with a wary stare.

Nina caught it and shot her a glare. She stomped the ground with the foot that had lost a fight with the side of the koi pond last night and stretched her wings. No pain and now no evidence.

Chasta walked to her and tried to take off the robe she had just put on. "Come on, let's stop this nonsense. You have to get ready for lessons-"

"_Lessons_?" Nina almost shrieked, stepping away from her friend. "I just told you I was almost _killed_ last night and you're telling me to get ready for _class?_"

"Nina, you had a bad dream, that's all!" Chasta reached for her again and was evaded. She blew air at her bangs in frustration. "I'll tell the others to draw you a bath, come on you'll feel better afterward I promise." As if on cue, a handmaiden with long, blue ribboned silver braids cracked open the door and before she could ask if they needed anything, Chasta told her to start one.

"There's no time for a bath, or lessons, or anything of that sort!" Nina protested when the door closed. "That - I don't even know _what_ he is - is on the loose, and I have to tell Ethan before he hurts someone else!" She stepped out of Chasta's range again and raised her voice to a regal level. "Now if you'll _excuse _me!" She didn't want to have to order her.

The handmaiden stopped Nina short with her hand, staring through the furious look she received with defiance. "Listen, Nina, I know yesterday was really stressful for you, but making things up so it will divert everyone's attention from the engagement isn't going to work like you want it to."

Nina set her jaw. "I am _not_ making things up, Chasta, I couldn't have thought up anything so horrifying." A sudden flashback of the monster ripping his sword from Ethan threatened to differ with her remark. She shook her head as if that would cast it away.

"Lisele was really worried about you," Chasta said in a softer voice, walking up and placing her hands on the princess' shoulders. "She asked me to stay with you all night - I mean I would have stayed with you even if she hadn't - but she wouldn't tell me why she was so concerned. Maybe you really did hit your head harder than I thought. Do you think...maybe...you dreamed it _all_?"

Nina started to retort, but the realness she felt during what she knew was definitely the dream, was too hard to ignore. Could she possibly have thought up the meeting with that creature last night as well?

"_I'll kill you for what you have done to me..." _

His strange eyes were still etched clear in her mind; so vivid, she didn't think she would ever forget them. Was she really capable of creating that..._thing_? If so, what kind of sick person was she to think of Ethan being massacred by it like that? She pulled at her bangs gently and winced at pain shooting over her crown.

Steam hit her cheeks and she realized, in a slight daze, she was already being lead through her pink and white tiled bathroom by Chasta towards the oval shaped, jacuzzi bathtub at the far end already filled to the brim with bubbles. Five handmaids surrounding it all bowed in unison, chiming, "Good morning, Your Majesty!"

Chasta took off Nina's robe – this time with permission - and handed it to a small, round faced red headed girl who bowed low and scurried away with it. "Just relax, Nina...I promise I won't make fun of anything you thought you saw," she said with a little laugh. Nina was hardly convinced. A tall, skinny girl with cropped bronze hair lifted Nina's nightgown over her head, and scooped up her underwear when she stepped out of them and into the sudsy water. The princess waded through a mist of flying bubbles to the other side of the tub and submerged her body to her collarbone in silky soft water. She dunked her head back once before laying it comfortably against a bath pillow set out for her. Chasta moved behind her, and gathered up her mess of honey hair. Nina closed her eyes, heard the _pop _of a bottle opening. Sweet scents of strawberries filled her nostrils, mixing pleasantly with the floral aroma the bubbles were giving off. Cool gel hit the top of her head, Chasta's fingers began expertly kneading it her scalp.

Nina sighed and tuned out her tender head. Maybe her friend was right. She did take a nasty fall, and the warm water _did _feel good... Chasta's massage was a welcome distraction as well; it was calming her mind more than she thought it would. She vaguely felt someone pluck her right hand from the water and start to gently buff her nails.

It had to all have been a dream, she decided. She must have passed out after Chasta went to get help.

"So...," Chasta cooed, "What was that dream about, anyways?"

Nina leaned back, narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Who said I wanted to be reminded of it?" she asked icily, but as always, her tone did nothing to faze Chasta's prying nature.

The handmaiden shrugged and pinched her nose closed before she dumped a bucket of water over her. "I want to know what scared you so bad," she said and Nina knew she was defeated before she started. "The more you talk about it, the more ridiculous it'll seem, you know, and eventually you won't be scared anymore."

It wasn't going to stop until she relented. Chasta let go of her nose and wiped the water from her eyes. "Well since you _insist_...Ethan was there and..." She stopped and stared at the mounds of crackling bubbles surrounding her, pondering whether she should let this gossip hound know about the things that happened between her and her guardian even though they didn't _really_ happen.

"Ooo _Ethan_, huh?" Nina quickly decided to spare herself anymore humiliation, plus all the handmaidens were subtly craning their necks at the mention of his name.

"Yes, and we were in my room...talking." Chasta annoyingly caught her pause.

"_Just_ talking?" she mused.

"Yes," Nina almost snapped, sitting up and splashing water on her face with her free hand, hoping Chasta would associate any flush she might have with the temperature of the bath.

"...And...?"

Nina shuddered with the returning memory of Ethan being skewered. "And then the...monster...the same guy that I, well I guess the guy I _thought-_" She sighed, still not clear on that. "-attacked me, came out of nowhere and..." she swallowed. "...brutally killed Ethan right in front of me." Chasta whistled. "Tell me about it," Nina murmured, thinking again of the demon's frightening eyes. "The worst part was that I was completely convinced it was real. I could feel his blood splattering on me when it happened..." she trailed off and the handmaiden working on the her nails dropped the file she was using. The girl nervously apologized and picked it back up.

"Geez, no wonder you screamed like that," said Chasta twisting the princess' long tresses until they relinquished the water within them. "What did the monster man look like?"

"Like a monster." was all Nina replied, further losing interest in reminiscing about him any longer, especially if he wasn't real. "So what sort of lessons do I have to go to?" she threw out in almost the same breath, attempting to stick her attention elsewhere, "I'm leaving in a few days. What could those old bats possibly have to teach me before I get shipped off?"

Chasta shrugged, thankfully taking the bone. "I'm not sure, Ludian history maybe? I think they've caught onto how you don't know anything about any other country than your own."

"I don't pay attention to things that are boring."

"And you barely know that."

"Again. Boring."

"You're spoiled," Chasta teased, piling Nina's hair onto the top of her head and wrapping a towel around it. "And Ludia's story isn't so boring. I don't know how you would think so, with you being a Wyndian; a _royal _one at that."

Another one of the help, this one sporting long curly black hair, picked up Nina's left hand and started to work on its nails. "I guess I should pay attention, since I'm going to be that country's queen and all."

"Ah, so not so boring now that it's all about you, right?"

Hurried footsteps echoed into the room and Nina looked back to see the same red head that took her robe earlier kneeling down and whispering something into Chasta's ear excitedly. Nina strained to listen, the girl's voice was too soft to pick anything up.

Suddenly Chasta burst into laughter and the girl jumped back, looking frightened.

"What's so funny?" Nina demanded.

Her friend's laughs finally quelled to giggles. "It's funny to me, but it's not going to be to you," she said through them, wiping her eyes.

Nina's own narrowed. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"It means, I was right. Benjiman told _everyone_ about you sitting around in the courtyard with just your panties on-"

"A slip! It was a _slip_! You saw it!" Nina cried, yanking her hands from the handmaidens and making fists in front of their astonished faces.

"Yeah, yeah I know what it was...but apparently it's gotten back to his majesty, and now you have to go talk with him as soon as you get dressed."

The handmaidens reached for her hands again and she swatted them away angrily. "_What?_ What am I supposed to say to him? I can't tell him about Ethan!" She hissed, glancing quickly around at the rest of the servants who had paused doing whatever they were doing and were now staring at her.

Chasta laughed again and Nina's eyes shot daggers at her. "_Stop laughing!_ This is all your fault!" she cried standing up. "You!" She pointed to one of the girls that worked on her nails who stiffened in attention. "Fetch me a towel. And you," She jabbed a finger at the other one. "A dress...or something...just get me some clothes!"

"Nina, it's not my fault and you know it," Chasta said, shaking her head and rinsing bubbles off of the bath pillow.

The princess shook water and bubbles from her wings and body the best she could and walked out of the bathtub to the nail girl holding a puffy white towel. "_You're _the one that brought him out there," she muttered acidly, snatching it out of the girl's waiting hand and wrapping it around herself.

Chasta tossed the pillow away and got up to follow the princess stalking out of the bathroom. "Nina, stop it...I'm sorry Benjiman can't keep his mouth shut, alright? A-and I'm sorry I laughed! I didn't think it was going to be such a big deal!"

The curly black haired handmaiden met them at the door of the princess' bedroom, a light blue sundress and matching underwear in hand. Nina took it without giving thanks, and loosened the towel around her so it slid to the floor. She replaced it quickly with the dress, and fumbled around with the undergarments while Chasta frowned at her. "You know, the courtyard is for everyone and not just _you_," she huffed, placing her hands on her hips. Nina ignored her and pulled the towel from her head. She thrust her feet into the same gold shoes from the night before and clomped out of her room.

The princess stormed down the castle's main hallway with Chasta still yapping at her heels. "Nina, come on, don't blame me for this! You probably won't even get into that much trouble since you're leaving soon!"

Nina stayed silent during her rampage. She had no idea what she was going to say to her father. No matter how angry she was at Ethan for not wanting to run away with her, she couldn't fathom doing anything that might cause him to lose his head. She rounded a corner hard, mildly tuning out Chasta's cries. (_"Sooner or later you're going to have to talk to me!") _

The king already knew she wasn't happy about the engagement, so maybe she could use that as an excuse...after all, it was at least _part _of the reason she went for that night flight.

Above where the courtyard was located, the king had built a large terrace around the upper part of the castle that was accessible only to members of the royal family. It boasted an amazing view of the city -as well as one of the courtyard- and was her father's choice location most mornings.

Nina felt her heartbeat quicken when she reached the terrace doors. Through glass panels, she could see her father sitting alone at a tall white table, sipping on a steaming beverage. The newspaper beside him was untouched. Beside her, Chasta was silent. Nina was grateful for it. She took a deep breath and rapped gently on the door. A muffled, _"Come in," _came through. Nina didn't see him move.

"Good luck," Chasta whispered, standing back while Nina opened the door. The princess turned her nose up at her and walked in.

The king did not take his gaze from the sky as she approached with her shoulders and wings drooped low. "What's this I hear about you running around the castle in your undergarments for all the commoners to see?"

"I wasn't trying to be seen," muttered Nina, biting her lip. Straight and to the point.

Her father raised his cup to his mouth, took another sip. "You are betrothed to the prince of Ludia. How do you think he would react, knowing of such adulterous acts?"

"Adulterous? But I've never- and I'm _not _betrothed yet!"

"Enough!" He barked and she flinched.

Another long sip. He continued to refrain from meeting her gaze and she shifted her weight between her feet uneasily. 'Adulterous' was a heavy word for him to use for something she considered a harmless mistake.

"You're lucky it was only a commoner who spotted you; Someone of higher status would be more troublesome to silence."

Nina's eyes widened. _Silence_? Would he really? "Father...?" She watched him lift the cup to his mouth and take an agonizingly lengthy sip. Her fingers curled tight at her sides when he spoke again.

"Maybe now you'll think twice about the things you do," he said simply. Nina stared at the back of his head with tears burning the corners of her eyes until he flicked his hand in a signal for her to leave.

When she walked out of the room, she didn't dare look Chasta in the eye.

* * *

Nina gave Chasta the silent treatment for so long, the handmaiden finally gave up on her and stormed off, muttering something about Benjiman probably enjoying her company more than this spoiled brat. The statement was an arrow through Nina's heart, but she didn't protest. Chasta was the eyes and ears of castle Wyndia; she was bound to find out the truth soon enough.

But what _was _the truth? What were they going to do to that poor boy?

Her father had said "silenced", which meant he would be dealt with out of the public eye. Guilt spread through her gut like a disease when she thought of terrible things like him being knifed in a dark alleyway in the city by another soldier.

A person was going to lose their life because of her carelessness, and she was never going to forgive herself.

"Princess Nina, are you alright?" Nina looked up to see she had made it to the library without much notice. Strange how her mind was becoming so preoccupied lately, she thought, staring at one of the castle's ancient looking librarians giving her an odd look from the entrance way.

"I-I'm fine!" She chirped, forcing a smile. There was no sense in making things worse by letting everyone know about her problems. "I just...I'm just..." Her stomach growled and she giggled nervously. "...hungry. I didn't have breakfast yet."

The librarian – a short, plump woman named Elsa with round, rosy cheeks and large, thick rimmed black glasses – nodded and took Nina's arm gently. "Oh, you poor dearie...your blood sugar is probably low. I'll get one of the help to grab you something to eat. Just sit down over here." She lead Nina into castle Wyndia's enormous four story library and sat her down in a large, maroon cushioned, dark wooden chair in the center of the circular bottom floor.

Elsa flicked her hand and four soldiers scurried over carrying a large table, and set it down in front of the princess. Benjiman dread crept up on her again at the sight of soldiers and she wrenched her eyes away from them to view the visible top floors of the library, where hundreds of book shelves housing thousands of books towered over her. A large portion of her life had been spent in this vicinity. Hours upon hours of lessons followed by trips to the top floor whenever free time was alotted to her to study the Fae and their language.

The Fae were a tribe of winged human-like creatures possessing the same large white wings Nina and a good portion of the nobles did. They were the Wyndians of the past; beautiful, powerful, magical beings that lived in harmony with nature and the spirits of its elements. It was their grace and beauty that inspired Nina to pursue the - documented in many grimoires as _grueling_ (why, she had no clue, it had come rather easy to her) task of communicating with those spirits, along with her desire to fight alongside Ethan.

A plate of hot blueberry pancakes smothered in steaming maple syrup topped with a small pallet of butter was set in front of her, and her mouth began to water. The food in castle Wyndia was something that was renowned throughout the world. She wondered sadly while taking a fork dwarfing bite, if Ludia's kitchen would hold a candle to this.

A different librarian than earlier, named Millie she remembered, stepped in front of her and placed a large leather-back book on the table near her plate with the words _Ludia's History and You _printed in large gold letters across the cover. "You can follow along with me in the book while you eat, Princess. We'll be going over a few basic things about Ludia," she said tapping the book. Nina swallowed her monstrous bite and nodded at the thin, wrinkled woman.

"A few basic things" ended up being a lesson that lasted so long, they served lunch and dinner to her at that same table. She guessed, while picking at a plate of honeyed ham and roasted vegetables with a heavy heart, that the rest of her days in Wyndia were going to be like this: people cramming all the information they could into her head so their country didn't look like a bunch of fools to Ludia.

She listened to it all for fear of a test, and found she agreed with Chasta on Ludia's history being far from boring. In fact, it was chock full of interesting things making her fight to keep the food in her stomach.

The years of war were peppered with incidents of hate crimes consisting of humans chopping the wings off of kidnapped Wyndians; _Public _choppings of wings, while the guards looked away and pretended nothing was happening. There was a picture in the book of a Wyndian with bloody feathered stumps where wings should have been, on his knees within a pool of blood in front of a crowd of laughing, pointing humans. Some were throwing rocks and rotten brown vegetables at him. A caption at the bottom of the picture had read chillingly, "And So an Angel Falls to Earth".

She knew about racism between the humans and her people, but to that extent? Did it still happen? Why were they teaching her things like this right before she was going to _live_ there? Was this a warning?

_Dear Goddess_, she pleaded, thinking of the hideously gratified expressions plastered on the humans' faces, _Don't let the Ludians kill me..._

* * *

After class, Nina wandered aimlessly around the castle.

Did Chasta know about Benjiman yet? Had anything even been done?

The handmaiden wasn't there waiting for her after lessons like she usually was. Nina wondered if she had taken ignoring her too far. She found herself shrugging indifferently. At least she wouldn't have to deal with her friend's hatred for too much longer.

Winds ruffled her hair, she found herself standing in the entrance to the courtyard, looking over the damage of the "earthquake".

The koi pond had indeed fallen in, and the hole was so wide now, it was pulling into it two of the four inner courtyard trees. Lanterns, still dangling from their branches, swung side to side in the winds, catching and reflecting the now setting sun's red-orange light onto the cobblestones. Nina walked up the shimmering walkway to the hole's edge. Her eyes widened when she peered into it.

There was an impact crater on the floor, reminiscent of what a gigantic fist from the heavens would create had it punched deep into the stone. Inside the cracked interior, laid the statue of the War Goddess, smashed – as Chasta had said – into pieces. Vines were strewn everywhere amongst hunks of wood she guessed had once been the benches.

What kind of earthquake did damage like _that_?

"Sissy! Sissy! Chassa, I find Sissy!"

"Isabella! Don't run around like that! There's a huge hole out here and I don't want you to fall in!"

Nina turned around to see her little sister Isabella bounding towards her, white blonde, curly pigtails bouncing and big brown eyes bright. "Sissy!" she cried, hopping into Nina's arms. The older princess fought for balance with her wings and, thankfully, didn't plummet into the hole a second time.

"Isabella! You can't be running around like that out here, it's dangerous!" she scolded, but caved when the little Wyndian giggled infectiously and rubbed the tip of her nose on hers.

"But I really wanted to see Sissy!" she cried, hugging Nina tighter.

Chasta skid to a stop in front of them and bent over with her hands on her knees, huffing and puffing. "That dam- I mean _darn_ kid..." she wheezed. "I've been chasing her all around the castle looking for you!" The handmaiden looked up and to Nina's surprise, smiled at her. Maybe she wasn't so keen on the castle gossip after all.

Nina pulled her face from Isabella's hair and gave an awkward smile in return. "Listen, Chasta, about earlier..."

Chasta waved her hands and didn't let Nina finish. "Don't worry about it, alright? I couldn't find Benjiman so I took a nap. I got summoned to Isabella's room, and I ran into Kenny from his rank. He said Benjiman was getting sent home to his folks in north Wyndia tomorrow," she said straightening out her skirt. "I guess it _was_ a big offense to talk like that about you."

Nina wondered if Chasta really knew _how _big of an offense, and if she was lying to spare her feelings. She was too much of a coward to ask.

"He also said the jerk lied and told everyone that I went back to the barracks with him that night after we put you to bed," Chasta added acidly. "So I say good riddance."

"Good widdance!" Isabella mimicked, giggling and throwing her arms out.

Nina felt the dread rearing its ugly head at her again and tried to ignore it by lavishing attention on her little sister. "Silly girl, what's so important you made Chasta run around like that looking for me?" she asked as cheerfully as she could.

The little girl's wide smile disappeared in an instant. "Father said you're going away..." she pouted in a tiny voice. "He said you're getting married to Loodia. Why do you want to do dat?"

Nina blinked. "Well..."

Chasta cleared her throat. "His Majesty was explaining to her today about how you wouldn't be accompanying her to lessons next week like you normally do. She was pretty adamant about finding you so see what this 'marriage' business was all about."

Nina looked back over at Isabella when the little girl tugged on her messy, wavy, air dried hair. "Well, marriage is," she started, carrying her sister away from the gaping hole in the ground and towards a small fountain in a safe back corner of the courtyard. "when two people...er...love each other..." she struggled with the word _love_. "they get married and live with each other, and not their own family. And sometimes it's really far away."

Nina sat on the fountain's edge and Isabella snuggled close to her. "You love Loodia?" she asked softly. "What about Isabella?"

Chasta stood against the castle wall and lit a cigarette with her finger.

"Izzie, don't be silly, I'll always love you," Nina assured gently.

"But you're going away...," Isabella sniffed. "I don't want you to go away!"

Fat tears began to roll down her cheeks and Nina carefully wiped them away. "Please don't cry, Izzie, you'll make Sissy cry..."

"Don't go!" she started to sob. "Everyone is mean to me when you not around!"

Nina stared at the now hiccuping little girl and felt an all too familiar anxiousness flood in and drown out the dread in an instant.

Anything possessing ears, knew of the curse of the Endless Night.

The second leader of Wyndia, Queen Nyna Valerie Wynlan – the first recorded farseer in Wyndian history – had a vision of a terrible evil walking the earth in the form of a royal blooded Wyndian with onyx wings. It was said that he/she – along with a monster guarding them as black as night – would suck all the light from the world and throw everyone on it into a nightmare of eternal darkness and despair. Past visions of incoming natural disasters throughout the world had already proven Nyna's abilities, so at once, a law was made stating if any one of Wyndian royal blood was to ever be found with black wings; they would be publicly executed before the world, so that the threat was known to be gone.

Isabella's feathers on her wings were as white as Nina's until the bottom, where they faded into a rich black, looking not unlike someone had carefully dipped them into ink. Every week at her lessons, Lisele would check Isabella's wings with meticulous precision, all while Nina stood by holding the tiny princess' always trembling hand.

Even at six years old, Isabella was all too aware of the consequences of that ink spreading.

Nina wrapped her arms around the girl. She had been so caught up in herself, that she hadn't given a thought as to how this would affect the youngest Wynlan. "Isabella, I'm so sorry...," she whispered. The beautiful burden on the young girl's back was hidden by special pink 'wing-mittens' she was ordered to wear whenever she stepped out of her bedroom. Nina hated them.

"Don't cry like that, Izzie. I'll watch after you and make sure no one's mean to you." Chasta's voice floated over and both Nina and Isabella looked up. "And I'll be the one to take you to your classes every week, alright?"

"...Really?" Isabella asked with hesitation.

"Yeah, and don't worry, Sissy promises to visit as often as she can, right Sissy?"

Nina swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded slowly, "Yes, of course I'll come visit all the time," she said and Isabella hugged her tight again.

"'Member, you promised!"

Chasta doused her cigarette in the fountain and flicked it over the wall, "Alright, Izzie, come on, it's getting dark. We'll see Nina tomorrow after she gets back from Ludia."

Nina reluctantly let Isabella go and watched her take Chasta's hand. "Bye Sissy!" she cried waving with the other hand. "I love you! See you tomorrow!"

Chasta nodded at Nina. "Good luck, tomorrow. I'll see you when you return," she said, and Nina was left alone staring at the fountain with burning eyes, knowing fully well that once she was married, she would probably never be allowed to step foot into Wyndia again.

* * *

The night was chillier than usual, but Nina stood out on her balcony anyway, not wanting to miss a night of looking at the moonlight shining off of the sea of flowers below.

She leaned on the balcony's edge and laid her head on her arms, in no hurry to go to sleep. Sleep would make her visit with the prince come that much sooner. She groaned into her arms loudly when she thought about him. Tomorrow was going to be hell. She was going to have to sign that paper and there was no way around it; the prince would make sure of that.

Whatever happened to the magic of being _asked_ for your hand in marriage? she thought angrily, pushing away from the balcony with an exasperated sigh and stomping back into her room. She had imagined it so many times, each with Ethan against a different backdrop, getting down on one knee and sliding a glittering ring onto her finger.

And every time, she imagined it to be the happiest moment of her life.

She plopped down at her vanity dresser, pulled her hair up and twisted it into a knot behind her head, not bothering to use a band. She pushed stray strands roughly away from her face, staring at her reflection in the flickering light of a candle beside her grimly. Soon she would be walking down the aisle with a man she barely knew, and pledge herself to him and only him. She kicked off her shoes and fought back tears, knowing that once they broke free, it would be impossible to stop them.

What did she do to the Goddess to deserve _any_ of this?

Something glinted in the corner of her mirror from the candlelight and her ears pricked at a rustling sound coming from behind. She flinched, then sighed loudly. "Cha~sta...!" she moaned, snatching up the candle from her dresser top by its holder and standing. "How many times have I told you to knock before you enter my-" She stopped suddenly, and the hand holding the candle began to shake so hard, wax spilled over the edge and splattered onto the floor.

A whimper was the only thing her shaking lips could muster at the sight of _him _sitting hunched over at the foot of her bed.

She stared at his now dull chain mail covered torso, housed in that dirty, shredded, crimson cloak, teetering between feelings of relief (with him sitting in front of her like this, she was that much more aware of her sanity) and fear for her life. Was he here to finish the job?

The back of her mind screamed for her to call Ethan, but she knew it to be a pointless endeavor; her actions from the night before had driven him from crossing her path the entire day.

The man's head was down, thick locks that were – Nina noticed – slightly tamer than before hid his expression in their shadow. She waited anxiously for him to speak, eyes frantically searching for any weapon on his person. None she could see, but it did little to stifle her terror; she knew first hand he didn't need one to pose a threat.

He slowly sat up straight and her heart slammed against her chest. "I hope you don't mind, I let myself in."

Nina stood still, digesting the voice that came from him. The language of the Fae rolled off of his tongue as if he were born to speak it, but was also laced with thick traces of an accent she couldn't put her finger on.

It was the same as in her dream.

She tried to calm her hand, but the candle continued casting its light erratically around the room. Who _was _this man who came back from the dead before her eyes? Why was he speaking a language so easily that faded from existence hundreds of years ago, when he wasn't even of the race that used it?

She swallowed, tried to gather the courage to say these things aloud. An unsettling smile crawling across his face slowed the process. He snickered. She stiffened. "I guess I don't blame you for being so wary," continued that strangely poetic voice. "I was a little cranky when I woke up."

_Cranky?_ Was he _kidding_?

Nina gathered up the bits of anger daring to make themselves known within her fear and set her jaw as best she could. "Y-you tried to kill me earlier...," she said slowly, switching gears to his language and hoping she really was as fluent as she thought she was. His smile widened and she guessed she was.

"Ah, so you _are _familiar with that tongue," he commended, reaching up with a bandage covered hand and pushing his hair from his face. "Makes things a lot easier."

He stood, the joints in his decrepit armored legs sighed dust. Nina's own body froze in place, her breath quickened. Was he going to attack? If he _did _attack, what was she going to do?

All Wyndians were born with the ability to use magic, and Nina was no different, but because she was royalty, she wasn't allowed to openly practice it. The one time she was caught attempting outside in the courtyard with Chasta, her father had furiously dragged her to her room and screamed at her for over an hour about how she was a princess and must _never _dirty her hands with such lowly soldier-esque actions. What were the guardians for then? Under his ever watchful eye, she was forced to only daydream of what she could _possibly _do in conflict.

How she despised her father at this very moment for her inexperience.

"As for attacking you," He spoke and it startled her. "I seemed to have mistaken you for someone else. My apologies."

Nina's brows raised. Mistook _her _for someone else? But she was the-

"Princess of Wyndia, Nina Valentina Wynlan, the _seventh _princess. Yes, I am aware of you now," he said, reading her expression. He took a step forward. She backed noisily into her dresser, more wax spilled. She steadied herself, threw a glare at the mocking smile still gracing his features.

Who did this guy think he was, marching into her quarters at this time of night like he owned the place? If she wasn't the one that he apparently wanted to kill, what was he doing here?

He took another step forward and she threw up a hand. "Y-you wait! T-t-ake one more step, and I-I'll call my guardian!" she warned, cursing inwardly at her stammering during a threat and hoping to every god in existence that if she screamed loud enough, no matter where he was, Ethan would come.

"Your guardian? Really?" The monster's eyes lit up. "You would really send someone to their death like that?"

Confident, that was for sure. "Ethan's strong," she said. Ethan was a former member of the AG; the elite of the elite! She wondered if he was aware of _that. _His smile didn't move.

"I'm strong too," was his reply.

She glared, but she had to admit, if he was in her room and no one else was aware, he wasn't someone to be taken lightly. "How _did _you get in here?" she asked slowly, "Dozens of soldiers patrol these hallways so...how?"

"I told you," he mused, and before Nina's bewildered eyes, was completely consumed by the shadows her candlelight shrouded him in. She stood, blinking dumbly at empty space until the air shifted and an amazing force barreled towards her. She squeezed her eyes closed and felt it halt a hair's breadth from her in a jangle of chain mail. Warm breath coated her ear. "...I let myself in."

Any glimmer of hope that might have resided within her was crushed in seconds. Was there actually something existing in this world that could move that fast? How could he just _vanish_ into the shadows like that? She wrenched her eyes open and saw that he was so close now, she could count the individual rust crusted rings on his dingy mail.

The same intense aura she felt at their first meeting pulsed and pulled against her, rolling off of him in seemly tangible waves threatening silently to drown her soul in its dominance. She found it hard to keep her head above the tide.

What _was _this sorcery?

Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a sudden, maddening urge to grab onto him and press herself against his body so hard, they became of one flesh.

She had to bite her lip until she drew blood to pull her attention from that demented notion. What the hell was _wrong _with her? She felt him barely flinch.

"You feel it too, don't you?" His voice again flooded her ear. Her teeth chattered. He couldn't possibly be having the same sick, weird thought right? She was too ashamed to dwell on it for even a second more. The man laughed, goosebumps cascaded down her neck. "As if it would solve the problem...you'd think he knew better."

She was going insane. There was no other explanation.

"Problem?" she heard herself ask softly as if she actually cared about this nonsense.

"You have something of mine," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "And I really need it back."

Him touching her was the last straw. Against paralyzing madness and terror, Nina snapped, and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"_ETHAN!_"


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

_It's About Time You Realized Your Place_

High above the commotion, tucked safely within a remote tower's elongated shadow, a man crouched low against castle Wyndia's ivory rooftops. Gentle breezes played with strands of almost forgotten navy and filled flared nostrils with deliciously sweet floral scents, as apprehensive eyes swept the surrounding area for signs of pursuit. When they came up naught, a smile tugged the outer corners of his mouth.

The princess' red headed boyfriend actually noticed him leave her room, but wasn't able to follow him through the shadow realm afterwards. His smile widened when he remembered the bastard's clueless look when he vanished into thin air before his eyes and the slew of angry words in their language that followed.

It may have been a little much also, his toying with the princess, but he couldn't deny himself the pleasure of witnessing a Wyndian -especially one resembling that wench- trembling in fear because of him. He shot a smug look back in the direction of her tower and slipped silently into an open window below.

* * *

Princess Nina was livid.

Not only did Ethan – her _guardian _for Goddess sakes - fail to come to her rescue, but the monster faded into nonexistence the instant a white faced Chasta, flanked by an equally blanched trio of soldiers, burst into her room; leaving the princess to be found standing alone, shrieking as if she were deranged.

Next to her, folded into the royal comforter like it belonged to only her, Chasta snored loudly and rolled over, taking even more coverage from Nina. The princess held onto the sliver of fabric that was her share and tugged. She received clumsy, sleepy hand slaps from the handmaiden in return. She gave up and let her have it.

It was hell getting her friend to stay the night in her room. The demon's abrupt exit had brought her sanity crashing back, and she was forced to grab a hold of – and explain - herself in a matter of seconds in front of four curious faces. Somehow, she managed weave a lie through gritted teeth about falling asleep at her dresser and having another nightmare about the monster, all while Chasta bombarded her with sly comments and questions about why she would call on _Ethan _to come to her rescue from a dream. The three soldiers stood in the doorway during a majority of it, watching the princess' face get redder and redder until she finally exploded and threw them out.

An elbow cracked into her spine and Nina yelped. "Nina...you gotta stop takin' up the whole bed..." Chasta moaned, shoving the the princess' wings over and draping a leg over hers. Nina took a deep breath, exhaled slowly as she thought about the nearly four feet of bed behind her friend's back.

Annoyances like this would have to be overlooked. If she could help it, she would never be caught alone again. Not while _he _was around.

Her eyes darted up to the corners of her ceiling at her mind's mention of him and scrutinized every shadow that streaked across them. Could he be _anywhere_, hiding? Could he be standing over her right now?

She found herself inching closer to Chasta.

She unconsciously bit at her bottom lip and winced when the wound on it opened up. It reminded her of that one hellish moment where she felt everything in the world would be at peace if she became one with the monster, and a vicious shudder rippled up her spine.

Things didn't feel _right _inside of her.

A spell. That had to be it. But _what, _was the question.

Like the ability to use magic, all Wyndians could also decipher other magics. Nobles and those with royal blood were more sensitive than others to it but even so, Nina had no idea where to even _begin _understanding the entity flowing off of him that seemed to feed on the living energy of anything it came in contact with.

Something like that should not have retreated from a group containing a servant and three low rank soldiers, especially after he had openly stated he would kill Ethan should he have stepped into the room; a royal guardian! So why was he taking it to extremes not to let anyone but her know he existed?

She dug her fingers into her hair and pulled at it. This didn't make sense, _he _didn't make sense. Why must the Goddess curse her with such atrocities at a time like this?

An arm shot out and collided with Nina's side with enough force to nearly knock the breath from the her. She wheezed and curled up, rolling her eyes and throwing the appendage back in Chasta's direction. The handmaiden mumbled something sounding like 'bed hogger' and settled back into snores.

If that demon was serious about Nina having something of his – which she hoped to the Goddess he wasn't – this wouldn't be last time she would see him. She narrowed her eyes at a particularly dark shadow on the wall in front of her.

Before that happened, she was going to have to surround herself with people, and figure out what the _hell_ he was. Degrading bastard, standing there smiling because he knew she knew there wasn't a damn thing she could do against him. She couldn't let him get away with that, or his apparent fascination for making her look like a fool in front of everyone she knew. She rolled onto her back and crossed her arms tight over her chest, angrily focusing her eyes on the ceiling of her canopy.

Next they met, she wasn't going to back down.

Her invigorating thoughts were suddenly cut short by an elbow making direct contact with her eye.

* * *

"Aww geez, this _really _isn't happening, is it? I know I move a lot in my sleep but...but..._this_!" Chasta wailed, throwing uncharacteristically bare arms into the air and pacing back and forth across the princess' floor. "Best case scenario, I'm getting sent back to the streets, I _know _it."

Nina, sitting at her dresser leaning in with her face close to the mirror to examine her eye, sighed and prodded at the patches of dark blue and purplish skin around it. "Stop it, Chas, you know father won't do that." She hoped.

"You're going to see the prince! The _prince. _And now you look like you've been caught in the middle of a tavern fight and it's all my fault!" Chasta squealed, her voice nearing unintelligible high octaves in her distress. "What if he tears up the treaty because you don't look perfect?'!"

"Hmm, wouldn't that be a good thing?" she knew it wouldn't happen, but a spark of hope ignited inside regardless.

"Not for my head!" Chasta cried, missing the humor completely. She shook long, unbound, dark hair back and resumed anxiously marching.

Nina sighed again, but refrained from making anymore fun. Her friend was seriously worried, and it was making her think maybe Chasta _did_ know more about Benjiman than she originally let on. The princess swung around on her stool and put on the best smile she could. "I'll just say I fell or something...they'll...possibly believe it."

Chasta's face visibly softened and Nina relaxed. "Well...I mean you can be clumsy at times, but I still think that...oh, wait!" she suddenly cried, and hopped over to the dresser Nina was sitting at. "I'll just put a lot of makeup over it!" she cried, digging into a top drawer and pulling out practically its entire contents. The handmaiden quickly lined her eyes with thick black liner and smudged deep violet shadow around them, then carefully curled her lashes to make the lid look less swollen.

Chasta stood back and admired her work. "Wow, now your eyes just pop out," she said using her hands to accentuate as well as smacking her lips with audible _pop._ "He's going to _love_ it! It's _sultry_." Nina didn't know if being 'sultry' was such a great thing. "Now lets get your dress on," Chasta said in a happier tone, reaching up and pulling a soft cream and violet knee length trimmed corset dress with a matching shawl down from a hanger attached to the mirror's edge. "Here, step in and I'll lace it up."

Nina stood and glanced nervously around. It was morning, so sunlight was pouring into the room in generous amounts, but there were still patches of shadows in places.

She wasn't about to take any chances.

She plucked the dress from Chasta's hands and started to walk towards her closet. "What are you doing?" the handmaiden called, putting her hands on her hips.

Nina stopped with her hand on the door knob, searching for an answer. She couldn't say, "Well there's this demon with the power to become invisible in shadows that's following me and I'm afraid he's hiding around and might peep," so she went with, "I want to look at another dress again before I really decide," and slipped in before Chasta had a chance to speak.

Inside, the closet was dark. Nina flipped on the light, praying to the Goddess that he didn't somehow slip in here when the door was open for that instant, or for some ironic reason would think it was a good idea to already be hiding in there. To her relief, the light brought no consequence, and she hurriedly donned the dress before giving her luck a second thought.

"I thought you said you needed some time to decide," Chasta said raising her eyebrows at the princess when she exited not a moment later. Nina shrugged and turned around so that the handmaiden could tie her dress. "You're acting so _weird _lately," Chasta muttered, pulling the strings tight. Nina sucked in her breath.

"You said yourself I'm under a lot of stress," the princess said when she exhaled.

Chasta rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's hope the eyeshadow stays in place and you don't end up showing off that I abused you," she said, handing her a pair of high lavender heels. Nina stepped into them and tousled her hair by a full length mirror on the wall.

Chasta wouldn't let her take a bath because she didn't want anyone to see her eye, so they had used an abundance of scented body powder on her (while she was still wearing her pajamas, much to the handmaiden's bewilderment). They also had to improvise a bit with her bed head. Chasta curled it and pulled it up into a messy bun that left her bangs and a thick strand of curls hang down slightly over the eye in question.

Nina thought she looked entirely too made up to be going out for lunch, but with her eye in that state, there was no other way around it but to wear that much. Her father was going to have a fit, no question about it. "Don't worry, it would take a lot for them to get me to rat you out," said Nina, forcing a laugh, and then turned around when she didn't hear a response.

Chasta was standing by the closet door, holding a long, thin, black feather.

"Nina, Isabella hasn't been in here, has she?" she asked turning it over in the light. "I just found this on the rug."

"No," Nina said coming over to take a better look. "She hasn't been in here for maybe a week or so." Her eyes gravitated to the onyx object.

Chasta was holding it in direct sunlight, yet not a bit of it was illuminated. It actually appeared to be _absorbing _the light into it. The edges were slightly distorted and fuzzy too, like it was having trouble existing in this reality.

Nina shook her head. 'trouble existing in this reality'? When did she start thinking like that?

"Weird...where could it have come from?" The handmaiden held it away from her and squinted her eyes. "There's...some kind of magic coming from it, but I can't tell what it is. You should know more than me, right?"

Nina did feel the magic coming off of it, and it was hauntingly familiar.

* * *

Despite their earlier importance, all thoughts of the creepy feather dispersed the moment Nina stepped outside and Ethan came into view, kneeling in front of her carriage door. He looked up as she approached and warmth spread over her face. The sight of him there, the morning sun shining off of his important royal guardian attire, emptied her mind of most everything except: By the Goddess, was he handsome.

"Princess, so glad to see you could make it," remarked her father curtly when she joined his side, snapping her out of it. He cast an eye down at her and scowled. "I do not approve of that amount of makeup; are you trying to look like a harlot?"

Chasta noticeably tensed on her other side. Nina touched a hand to her arm to calm her; she had been waiting for this. "Forgive me, father, but I did not get much sleep last night. I awoke to find extremely dark circles under my eyes, and I assumed you would rather me not appear sickly or tired in front of the prince."

"They were _that _dark?"

"Yes, _Your_ _Highness._"

He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly. "Regrettably, we do not have time for me to send you back to rectify it, so I'm afraid I must comply." The next part he said a lot lower. "Let it be known that if he annuls the treaty because of something idiotic like this, I'll do much more than 'silence' the guilty parties involved."

Nina – scared to death Chasta had maybe heard him - gave the handmaiden verbal permission to leave, and her already spooked friend hurried to join a group of other help crowding around the doors (probably trying to get a good look at her and Ethan), after bowing to her and the king nervously.

"Well, you've made us dreadfully tardy with your delay," said the king in a voice for everyone. "I shall pray the prince does not hold punctuality in high regards."

Nina pursed her lips. She never heard a time mentioned, only "lunch". "Well, I suppose we shouldn't be wasting time on idle chat then, should we?" she snapped before realizing it, and held her breath in the few seconds of silence that followed.

"Yes," he replied sourly, "I suppose not."

"I'll take my leave then, your highness," she gave a brisk curtsy and stepped towards the carriage.

"I have confidence you will be on your best behavior, my dear? Show that you have some class underneath that mess," she heard him call behind her. Her fingers curled tight to her sides and she had to clench her teeth to stop the venom from spewing. She scowled down at the cobblestones under her feet and didn't watch him walk back inside, hatred simmering quietly in her veins.

"Your carriage awaits, Your Highness," Ethan's voice brought her gaze back up into gorgeous eyes and her angry thoughts melted away.

She wondered if he was going to sit in the carriage with her again. Even if it did only result in awkward stares and silences, it would be better than her being alone in there brooding about her stalker.

Right, the stalker. It wasn't safe to be alone anymore.

Goddess, she was going to have to actually _ask _him to ride with her.

She forced all of her nervousness behind her - telling herself over and over that it was worth it, and that being embarrassed in front of Ethan for a few hours was nothing compared to going mad for some degenerates sick satisfaction – and flashed a brilliant smile.

"Why thank you, Sir Von Buren," she gushed, curtsying. (Chasta had given her the idea last night before they went to sleep, to kill him with formality the next time they met. She said it might make him realize how ridiculous it all was) "Will you be joining me on this trip? Or will the driver be the only one with the pleasure of your acquaintance this morning?" she asked with a slight pout at the latter suggestion and a bat of her thick eyelashes.

He actually hesitated and her heartbeat quickened.

"Of course, my lady," he said with a smile that made her knees weak. "The prince assured there would be no trouble with us crossing the border this time, so it might be nice to have some interesting company."

"That would be lovely, Sir Von Buren!" she cried clapping her hands together joyfully. Her heart was fluttering almost painfully fast, but she kept her confident smile showing as she took his hand and was led into the carriage.

Stuck in the midst of "Ethan haze" she didn't notice her guardian glance up at the top of the castle gates as he followed her in, and rest his other hand on the hilt of one of his swords.

* * *

It was both a relief and extremely frustrating at the same time that Ethan was acting as if their conversation a few days ago hadn't happened.

For the duration of the trip to Ludia, Ethan was - for a better word - a chatterbox; talking about everything from how nice the weather had been in Wyndia since he'd been back, to her studies and questions about what she was learning. He even tossed a few compliments her way whenever there was room, saying that no matter what her father said, her eyes looked stunning with that color and he commented that she smelled 'heavenly'.

She kicked herself inwardly for letting his kind and possibly fabricated words further nurture that spark of hope that failed to falter inside her, but she couldn't help thinking he could have ignored her if he had so wished.

But he had not.

That hope kept her on the edge of her seat, leaning in flirtatiously to prompt more conversation from the fiery haired guardian, all while feeding her visions of him suddenly grabbing her and jumping out of the carriage to run far off into the horizon where they could be away from princes and treaties and politics in general, and just be _together._

Deep in her heart, she knew this was him only trying to make her last days in Wyndia tolerable, but she asked herself -watching him smile and laugh as he spoke with perfect lips - was it really so bad to dream that, maybe one day, things might actually happen the way _she _would like them to?

* * *

They arrived at castle Ludia, and Nina was saddened to be pulled from her haze.

Nichol greeted them as before at the castle gates in the same variably shimmering attire – it was a sort of uniform she guessed - and led her and Ethan past a line of kneeling knights and maids into the castle.

"Prince Vahn has been looking forward to this, Princess Nina. He hasn't stopped talking about it since you left the other day," Nichol said halfway through the castle's main hallway. Nina turned away from the Ludian royal family portraits she was looking at to him. "Important people from all over the land were called upon to assist planning and preparing this meeting. The courtyard has never looked so beautiful; I can't _wait _for you to see it. The prince is quite determined to impress!" he chuckled.

What would be the point of him going to such lengths to "impress" her? She was being made to sign the papers with a blade to her throat regardless.

"Oh my, how _flattering!_" she exclaimed, clasping a hand to her chest. She thought she might have overdone it, but Nichol's smile stayed put.

They reached the end of the hallway to a pair of large, dark wooden doors; each with a rose carved into the middle. "And here we arrive, my lady. Castle Ludia's inner courtyard," he said while soldiers pushed them open.

The courtyard..._did _impress her. It was a miniature forest, and it was breathtaking.

"I know, I know, your silence is due to awe," Nichol said smugly, motioning for them to follow further in. Ethan was also transfixed; like Nina's, his gaze never wandered far from the treetops.

Her lessons yesterday reminded her the Ludian royal bloodline had been blessed with an abundance of magical potential – magic being something rare for humans to possess anyhow - and Prince Vahn was one of the most powerful sorcerers of his race. Looking around at everything, she could see that it was the work of no novice.

Magic made faerie dust clung to every tree – from leaves to roots – and shined brilliantly in the early afternoon sun, giving the forest a surreal, dreamlike look. A small, man made river ran alongside the main cobblestone pathway they followed, filled with bright orange and yellow fish swimming under lily pads holding extravagant flowers and even more colorful frogs jumping between them. Birds, with their colors also enhanced by cosmetic enchantments, flew through the sparkling branches, their songs gently floating down and warming the princess' heart with thoughts of home. A veteran indeed. The ability to do this much visual magic at one time..._and _maintain it...

Wait, thoughts of _home_?

She shook her head sharply and Nichol took her arm into his. "Come, Prince Vahn is waiting for us," he said softly, leading her farther down the pathway and into a slight clearing where a white gazebo covered in glittering vines and roses stood surrounded by water and soft lit lantern posts. The prince sat comfortably inside at a table with two long skinny lit white candles on it. He looked over as they approached, a broad smile spread. Nina felt it hit her again, the feeling of grass beneath her feet as a child, of coming home to a hearty meal cooked with love by her mother, though no one in her family had stepped foot inside a kitchen in decades, that feeling of everything being so warm and _right._

She couldn't explain it, but somehow she knew he was using a type of influential magic on her. In fact, the whole courtyard was seething with it. Everything her senses took in, from the sounds of the river water lapping at its edges to the way the crystallized roses on the gazebo were glittering in the sun, gave her a pseudo nostalgic feeling that this place was the only home she'd ever known and _could _ever know. The magic clung to her mind like morning mist on grass, it was difficult to shake herself free.

What had stopped him from using something like this on her in the first place, when she was being a problem before? If the papers were in front of her now, she feared she would have signed them without a second thought.

"Princess Nina, how _wonderful_ it is to see you again," said Vahn, rising from his chair. His long, blonde hair was unbound this time. He wore a charcoal gray shirt slightly unbuttoned at the top and the same type crisp black pants as before. On one arm, there was a blue scarf tied around it with the Ludian royal symbol stitched in white across it.

Nina followed Nichol into the gazebo and curtsied before the grinning prince. "This place, is...well, 'amazing' really isn't enough of a word for it, I believe." She glanced over at Ethan who was leaning on the outside wall now with his arms crossed staring up into the treetops. Could he feel it too, or was it only directed at her?

Vahn knelt and brought her hand to his lips. "Nothing can be called 'amazing' with you standing anywhere near it," he purred, kissing the top of it and locking his dark lashed, pale blue eyes with hers.

Magic like this had to be prepared for, a rogue train of thought forced itself to the surface of the mist. It probably was not just him either. The 'important people' Nichol mentioned most likely had more to do with it. As for before, the prince must've assumed things were going to go smoothly, so there was no need for such drastic measures.

Her brow furrowed. Where were these thoughts _coming _from? Regardless of how many people were involved, influence this strong should have crushed her will the moment she walked in. How was it that she, someone who was not familiar with any type of mental defense enchantments or spells whatsoever was able to think clearly enough to recognize this for what it was?

She realized she was letting him hold her hand too long. "How kind of you, Prince Vahn," she forced a giggle, taking it gingerly back. Behind her, Nichol pulled out the chair across from the one the prince was sitting in before, and she sat down with her legs crossed. Vahn followed suit.

"Nichol, the wine if you please," he said to his adviser, who nodded and produced a bottle of red wine and two glasses with a wave of his hand. A flash brought Nina's eyes to a ring on his finger. He poured some wine in each glass and set them and the bottle onto the table.

"If I may take my leave," Nichol said bowing. "I'll go check on lunch." He turned and made his way down the gazebo stairs.

Vahn must have seen her look. "Nichol is not of royal blood, as you probably have guessed," he said, taking a sip of wine. "I had a ring crafted for him made of pure, condensed magic and taught him how to draw power from it. He is surprisingly adept at manipulating magical forces, despite the obvious restrictions."

Nina nodded and took a large gulp of wine. She had to get through this some way or another.

He smiled, poured more into her glass when she set it down. "But enough about Nichol, lets talk about _you_," he said with a wave of his hand. Sparkling dust glittered in the air. It took all she had to tear her eyes from the hypnotic spectacle.

She knew she should have been angry at this blatant display of oppression (was she really supposed to sit here and let him stamp out her free will with eye candy and parlor tricks?) but no matter where she tried to look, the anger wasn't there. Was all of this a pacifying spell as well? If so, they really _were_ worried about her making an outburst.

She found herself slightly satisfied by this.

"I'm happy to see you are back on your feet, you had me _dreadfully_ worried before. I would have sent you straight home if I suspected you didn't feel well today."

Somehow, she doubted that. "Oh yes, I'm much better now, thank you."

Vahn put his elbows on the table and cupped his chin daintily in his hands. His eyes traveled over her for a long, awkward moment before he spoke again. "You know, I don't know how I went an entire day without seeing your gorgeous eyes. I simply _cannot _take my own from you now, no matter how hard I try. I seem to be..._entranced _by them. That color is just...I'm afraid I'm lost in them..." Nina flushed and played with the table cloth in her hands underneath the table. She wanted to punch away the lewd look coming over him, but couldn't find the rage to back it.

Damn magic.

She was relieved to see Nichol back so soon to point the prince's attention elsewhere. "We're going to start you off with a salad," the spectacled brunette said, taking the lid off of a tray that a handmaiden with him held. The salads both looked like works of art, with sprigs of fresh parsley fanning out of slivers of avocados and tomatoes elegantly. "As well as a flavorful bisque." The soup was also dressed up with a design on the surface made with a darker sauce spread by brisk knife strokes. "I hope you enjoy," Nichol said, and he and the handmaiden bowed. "We'll be out in a little while with your main course." Nina wished she could ask them to stay as she watched their backs disappear into the sparkling dream forest.

The food was amazing, the main course – orange roast pheasant with sautéed peppers – was one of the best things Nina had ever tasted. The prince didn't talk much while they were eating, other than to voice the same opinions she had on the food, but once they were done, Nina was forced to engage in conversation again until dessert arrived.

"So, still admiring my work?" Vahn asked after taking a sip of wine, gesturing to everything around them.

Nina nodded after giving another slow once around.

Vahn smiled and poured more wine into her glass. This was her third one. "I promise to always keep it up for you," he said sweetly, "I want you to feel like this is home, always. I know how you will miss Wyndia, and I'm sorry there aren't fields of beautiful flowers here, Ludia is a mostly wooded country, but I hope something like this can one day suffice."

Nina held her glass mid sip. Had she been wrong all along? He wasn't trying to trick her with spells. He had prepared all of this so that she wouldn't be homesick when she came to live here. She set her glass down and blushed slightly from the wine and his remarks. Maybe he wasn't as bad as she originally perceived.

"Goddess' tears, you truly do resemble an angel," he said, suddenly pulling his chair close to hers and placing a hand on one of her legs. "I can't wait to have you in my bed..." he breathed into her ear, and her nice thoughts of him lasted until that.

If it weren't for the calming aura beating down on her, the prince would have been a dead man, and Ethan would have been next for not doing a damn thing about it. He was still leaning against the gazebo, staring up at the glittering trees. The prince nuzzled down, his lips seeking a kiss, and Nina pulled back sharply. "Oh, dessert!" she squeaked pulling her leg out from underneath his hand.

Vahn shot a hurt look over at Nichol walking up the stairs. "What terrible timing you have," he pouted, pulling his chair back into place.

Nichol laughed and set a large plate full of tiny individual cakes onto the table. "You will have ample time to do such things when you are married, my prince."

Vahn reached for one with a carrot icing design on the top of it. "How very true, Nichol, _but _desperate situations call for desperate actions. We must start trying for an heir the moment we are wed," he said, popping it into his mouth.

Nina almost choked on a chocolate mousse one she was forcing down to be polite. Children? _Now?_ "An heir? S-so soon?" she coughed, wiping mousse from her lips.

Vahn cocked his head and gave her an odd look as though the answer was written across his face. "Of course. There's no telling how long father has, and he would be utterly devastated if he did not have a grandchild before he passed." He shook his head sharply. "No, I _cannot _deny him such a thing. I'll try my hardest, no matter how long it takes!"

Nina blinked. Not only did she have to worry about their wedding night, but now having his _children_? She didn't think she was old enough to even _think _about offspring of her own, but what was she to say? She didn't have a choice in anything else, why should this be such a surprise? She managed to swallow the cake and nod with a defeated smile through another thought blaring at her that it would be a great idea to push the table over onto him and fly out of the forest.

It almost made her laugh out loud. If the prince didn't already cast a spell to prevent her from running away, Ethan would catch her in seconds. How insane she was becoming with all of this stress.

After dessert in which Vahn insisted (rather forcefully after he was denied the first few times he asked) on feeding some of the cakes to her - she was once again faced with the paragraph that penned the end of her life.

She held the pen in her trembling hand right above the line she was supposed to sign, swallowing back a lump in her throat. Vahn got up and draped his arms over her shoulders, hugging himself close to her back between her wings. His long hair spilled over her left shoulder as he pressed his cheek gently against hers. "Sign, my love," he whispered, words dripping with magic undertones.

There was no reasonable way out of it and him being so close was sickening her so she signed, feeling her free will leak out along with the pen's ink.

Vahn snatched the paper the second she finished the "n" in "Wynlan" and pulled her into a hungry kiss she wasn't prepared for. Pain seared the inside of her mouth as the wound in it cracked open, and she grasped at his sleeves to push him back. He responded in kissing her harder.

What was Ethan _doing_? Didn't he see she needed help?

No, she didn't need help, she realized darkly before the other thoughts finished. This man was her fiance now, soon to be husband. This kind of thing...happened with couples who were about to be married. In signing that paper, she gave her life to Ludia, to this man. How could she object? Who could she even object to?

She squeezed her eyes closed. No one said she had to enjoy it.

When he finally pulled away she was almost out of breath. He jumped back and held the paper up, staring at it lovingly in the sparkling forest air. "Finally, after so long...you're all mine!" he cried bringing it down and hugging it close.

Her stomach lurched at the remark and in between looking for a good place to vomit, her eyes found Ethan, his flawless face was still looking to the heavens. Flawless face, flawless _person_... that she could never in this lifetime have. She gripped the sides of her chair to try and stop the tears and her dinner from pouring out.

* * *

Chasta met Nina at the entrance of the castle when she returned, bouncy and wide-eyed. "Nina, what _happened_? You're father gave me orders to fetch you the _instant _you got back!" she cried excitedly.

Nina rolled her eyes and touched a hand to her forehead. Drinking all of that wine had given her a headache. "Geez, what am I getting yelled at about now? I signed the papers, I'm getting married to the cretin... I did _everything _he wanted me to do!" She didn't need this. On the way home from Ludia, she was ditched by Ethan and was forced to wallow alone in the – slightly drunken - rage that hit her all at once when she apparently left the spell's radius. There was no crying (she couldn't mess up all of that makeup before she got back), only hateful thoughts hissing and popping inside her head about her father doing this to her. She should have been afraid of being alone, but there was enough anger about the prince's forcefulness to mask any fear of the monster showing up. In fact, she would have welcomed his appearance; then she would've had an excuse to hit someone.

She guessed Ethan figured his good nature wouldn't be enough to cheer her up this time, so he decided to ride up front with the driver. He was correct if he truly thought that, but it still made her angry that he didn't at least try.

"I don't know, all he said was that he needed to see you immediately. You think maybe the prince found his heart, and is going to let you make your own decision?"

Nina laughed sharply. She couldn't help herself. Judging from the way he acted when she finally signed, she knew there was no way in hell he was going to let her go. "Don't try to fill my head with useless things like 'hope', Chas."

"Geez, Nina I'm just trying to be nice."

They reached castle Wyndia's magnificent throne room doors and Nina nodded to the soldiers standing on either side of them. "I'm here to answer my summon from the king," she stated.

"Yes, My Lady!" They both cried in unison, saluting and pushing open the massive doors.

Chasta suddenly grabbed onto Nina's arm. "So, you don't think...well...you're _positive _nothing bad happened right? His majesty sounded very serious before..."

Nina's eyes widened. She _did _hear him. "Chas..."

The handmaiden's grip tightened as they walked down the throne room aisle, towards the king, his adviser Asheton, Ethan, and -Nina gasped when she laid eyes on the next in line- _Nichol_?

"Who's that?" Chasta whispered out of the side of her mouth.

"Prince Vahn's adviser," Nina side-murmured back, brow furrowing. How could he be in two places at once? She distinctively remembered him waving goodbye to them as the carriage pulled away from castle Ludia!

Warping magic. Child's play to high level sorcerers, it's just a matter of clearance by the city being warped to.

"Warping?" Nina said a little too loudly and Nichol smiled at her when they approached.

"Yes Princess, I did in fact warp here," he said bowing to her. "Now that you've signed the treaty, Wyndia and Ludia are allies. Such travel is now allowed in cases of emergency."

"Emergency? What's the emergency?" Oh please say the prince fell into a bottomless pit, she thought desperately. There was a tickle in the back of her mind, like something was laughing.

"Relax, my dear, there is nothing wrong," her father said, smiling and walking forward. He threw his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug. Chasta jumped away in surprise. "In fact, you did _better _than perfect," his voice went low so only she could hear. "I was surprised...I thought you were going to screw this up for me out of spite. It's about time you realized your place."

She held onto his royal robes so tight, her knuckles went white. "And what exactly _is _my place, father?" she hissed back.

"Do not forget what I said earlier, princess," he said with equal venom. "Making a scene is not a wise option."

They both broke apart briskly and Nichol scratched his head. "May I tell her the good news, my liege?"

"By all means, go ahead," The king said throwing on another award winning smile.

Nina grasped one of Chasta's trembling hands in hers and squeezed it.

Nichol clasped his hands together in front of him enthusiastically. "I am pleased to announce Prince Vahn has decided it is imperative you both be joined as soon as possible! He's moving the wedding date up to the day after tomorrow!"

Nina felt the floor slowly open up around her. _Two days? _In two days she was going to be _married_? Everyone in the room stared at her, waited for what she had to say about the whole thing.

Again, an overpowering urge to vomit came over her, she forced it back. Would her father kill Chasta over something like her throwing up in front of Ludia's adviser? She really didn't want to know the answer to that.

"Princess, aren't you _happy_ ?" The king asked through gritted teeth, his face reddening with every second of her silence.

He _would _kill over her not answering, for sure.

"I'm...so happy..." she said, mouth dry.

"Good! I shall report back to Vahn immediately," Nichol said jubilantly, bowing to everyone. "We will send transportation in the morning. The prince says to pack only about a week's worth of things. He'll send servants to get the rest of your belongings in the days to come. Now, if I may take my leave of you?"

"Yes, certainly," the king said shaking his hand. "We will see you in the morning."

Nina watched as the advisor placed his right hand – the one with the magic ring – on his chest and lower his head while moving his lips in a chant. His body shimmered for a brief moment upon completion and then fell away into glittering specs of dust in the air.

"Lady Chasta, please help the princess prepare for her departure," the king said when the last spec faded away. "- in which there will be _no _problems, I presume?"

"Yes, your majesty!" Chasta chirped, bowing.

"And you, Princess Nina?"

Words couldn't describe the hatred filling the glare he received.

* * *

"What's the weather been like in Ludia lately?" Chasta asked, up to her ears in clothes within Nina's closet. "You think you'll need anything with long sleeves?"

"Don't know, don't care."

"Well you were there two days of this week, you had to have felt the weather. What was it like?"

"Don't know, don't care."

Chasta sighed and stood, gathering up an arm full of random clothes. "You asked for it, whatever I'm scooping up is what you get, so don't come crying to me when you don't have anything that matches," she said stuffing it all into a large suitcase. "I'm going to do the same with your shoes if you don't get serious about this."

Nina looked her straight in the eyes with her own puffy bloodshot ones. She had been crying nonstop since they left the throne room almost an hour ago. "At this point, I really don't know, and I really _don't. care._" She spoke every word crisp and clear and she meant them. Why should she put forth the effort into anything anymore when it was completely clear now that she was not in charge of anything in her life? The easiest thing to do now was sit around and let what was going to happen, happen.

Chasta set aside the suitcase and plopped down beside her on the floor. "Alright well, I didn't plan on giving you this until later, but I guess...there's really not going to be a later, huh?" she said with a little laugh, and Nina cleared her throat.

"Your point?"

The handmaiden pursed her lips and took a bracelet out of a small purple handbag that was slung over her shoulder. "This," she said handing it to her, "is one sort of communication devices the soldiers use when they are out on the field. Benjiman and I had a pair he stole we used to talk to each other with, and he didn't take it when he left...so I thought maybe we could use them and test out if it works the distance from here to Ludia."

Nina turned it over in her hand. It was a thick leather strap with a small metal box sporting an array of buttons along with a screen on it. She put it on and Chasta showed her how to use it.

"I'll visit Isabella regularly and let her talk to you."

That brightened Nina's spirits a bit. "Really? You guys will keep in touch?"

"If it works, yes. Listen, you look exhausted."

Exhausted? Did she?

"Your head is drooping as we speak. I'm going to finish packing your things while you go to sleep. Don't look at me like that, I'll make sure you have stuff that matches. The earlier we get up, the more time we get to have before you leave," Chasta said pulling the princess up from the floor and practically dragging her to the bed. Alcohol and her crying fit must have worn her out. It was a wonder she didn't pass out in the throne room.

She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

* * *

The floor and the walls were a deep red/black and had a sort of velvety texture to them; their edges distorted and fuzzy like the black feather Chasta found in her room. Nina felt around with bare feet at the floor, keeping balance with her hand on a wall. Everything was pulsing, surfaces moved as though there were millions of bugs underneath them.

She was almost positive this was a dream.

After the initial panic attack at waking up in a place like this, she had to convince herself this was a dream because she was indeed _not _crazy and such things did _not_ exist outside of dreams.

A long hallway spread out on either side of her with several doors lining either side. For a long time Nina had been staring at them, silently building up the courage to go and try one. It could be an exit.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

The doorknobs were creepily organic. She closed her eyes and said a quick prayer. She was getting no where standing here, she might as go for it. It was a dream, right? If something bad happened she would wake up.

...right?

She made her way over the squirming floor to the first door and turned its sickeningly warm, fleshy knob. A pitch black room greeted her. "Hello?" She called out into it. Her voice echoed like she was on the top of a mountain range. "Is anyone there? I don't know where I am or what's going on-"

A whip of shadows lashed out from the blackness and pulled one of her legs out from under her, she crashed onto the living floor. Adrenaline surged as it started to drag her into the unknown. She rolled over, hands scrabbling at the floor for grip. "Get off, GET OFF!" She kicked at the shadow with her free foot. It wrapped even tighter. "Help!" She cried, but who was going to help her in a place like this? "_Someone please help!_"

Blue flashed. The whip severed. Nina pulled herself away and slammed the door shut with a foot. She went to yank the shadowy remains off her other leg. Before she could, it dissolved into the air.

"You make too much noise, Fai'en." a harsh, young voice hissed at her in old Wyndian with a _very _distinct accent, and she looked up into the shadowy face of a child striking a chord of familiarity that chilled her to the bone.

Long navy hair, olive complexion, feline-ish yellow eyes, everything.

He was dressed in tattered rags (a simple tunic and pants held together by an over sized weapon belt, with a large forest green cloak wrapped around his torso) and his right arm had a bloody bone protruding from it that had twisted and contorted into a short blade. She stared incredulously at it. He looked both ways down the hallway, checking for something, then winced when the bone shot back into his arm. The wound healed within seconds. "Come with me," he said suddenly, grabbing her hand and pulling her up. For a child, he was amazingly strong. "He will find us out in the open."

They ran down the hallway. Nina had to fight to keep up with him. "Who is _he_?" she asked between strides.

The boy shot her a look that shut her mouth tight. "Speak when we are safe," he spat, then shook his head, muttering something in a language she didn't know.

Was this child really _him_? If so, why was he helping her? She used her wings to help propel herself into into a faster pace.

They passed about twenty or so more doors and stopped abruptly. He motioned for her to lean down and she complied, grasping her chest, trying to catch her breath. "If the shadows have taken over, we find a new safe haven," he whispered, tiny fangs coming into view when he spoke.

"What are 'the shadows'?" she asked.

"You saw them before."

"Oh." Shadows were bad, she gathered.

He slowly turned the knob on the door and opened it a tad so he could peek in. "Coast is clear," he said and pulled her inside with him.

On the other side was a room that looked nothing like the frightening hallway of death behind them. In fact, it looked like a relatively normal bedroom in a castle. Nina and the boy stepped out of a coat closet, he shut the door and locked it. Would locks keep the shadows out? she wondered.

Nina didn't recognize the make of this castle. Most kingdoms had gone to more extravagant materials than simple gray stone like this. It looked almost ancient in style. "Where are we?" She asked, walking over to a window and peering out. This castle was _huge_, and the city around it the same. Wyndia could have fit in this region three times over; she couldn't see past the city gates and they were in one of the highest towers, it looked like.

"My quarters, castle Drogen," the boy said, walking over to a bed with astonishingly detailed carvings of dragons on the wood and sitting on it. "I have a strong feeling this is a good memory."

Drogen? Memory? A little girl's giggles made her turn to the actual doorway of the room. Nina searched around for a good place to hide, and the boy laughed at her. "Don't worry, Fai'en, they can't see you. Relax, we're safe for the time being."

The door opened, and a clone of the demon boy (she still thought he was a demon, child or not, with those eyes and that freakish blade of his) ran in, followed by a slightly younger, paler little girl with the same long blue hair. They closed the door and the girl started jumping up and down, clapping her hands and yelling something in a language Nina didn't understand. The boy 'shushed' her and smiled. He said something and the girl nodded excitedly.

Both Nina and the little girl watched in awe as the boy slowly faded into nothing. Nina blinked at the empty air, much like she did when she saw it before. The girl did not have the same reaction, she erupted into giggles and jumped up and down again like before, clapping her hands and yelling something out to him.

Air near Nina shifted and the boy reappeared, shaking his head slowly. He said something, walked back to her and pat her head. She pouted about what he said and he mussed her hair in a loving manner. She waved her hands at him in protest.

Nina looked over in the real boy's direction and saw he was smiling at the little girl. This was a memory of his? How could she be seeing something like this? The children had finished their conversation while the Wyndian was lost in thought and left the room, giggling.

"This is...your memory?" Nina asked when the door closed.

He met her gaze with piercing eyes. "Yes, although its really none of your business, is it?"

His attitude deterred her curiosity about the girl. He was the one who brought her in here in the first place! "Maybe it's not, but if it's right in front of me, I have the right to ask-"

The cabinet they came through burst open and darkness flooded in like ink being spilled onto paper. The boy stood, staring at it spread terrified. "H-He's here! How did he find us so fast?" he cried, and instead of fighting like Nina assumed he would, ran and cowered in a corner.

"What are you doing!'?" Nina screamed at him, jumping back from the bits whipping out of the pool of blackness. "Fight it!"

"I...c-c-can't...!"

She ran over and knelt down beside him. "What do you mean you 'can't'? Didn't you save me before?" she asked grabbing onto his shoulders. They were trembling so hard... He looked up. All the blood was absent from his face.

"I-It's not the s-same...I c-can't f-f-fight him," he said teeth clicking with a tremendous chatter. "The madness...I c-can't..._he's_ too close...I c-c-can't...control..."

The demon was a nervous wreck and she actually felt _sorry _for him.

She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. Demon or not, it was breaking her heart to see a kid like near her sister's age like this. "I didn't know even monsters got scared," she murmured. The boy didn't comment. "Who is _he_?" She asked in a more soothing tone. He was reluctant to her embrace until she did. Tiny hands clutched at her pajamas.

"K-kaiser..." he said, looking up with eyes she somehow knew were filled with a fear for something far greater than death. "Please, d-don't let him take me!"

"I won't!" she cried, hugging him tighter. How? How, pray tell, was she supposed to stand against something that was making _him _a blubbering mess?

**What are you doing here, Keeper?**

That voice.

The boy started to whimper. Nina looked to the doorway. Globs of darkness molded themselves into a human-like torso. It stretched. A head formed. Blindingly bright white hair spilled forth, parted to reveal narrowed glowing crimson orbs. Hands morphed into spiked claws. Wings of condensed black smoke billowed out behind it.

Shadows whipped out of the bulbous darkness making up its bottom half, and latched onto the boy's neck and waist. Nina fought to pull them off in vain. "Don't let him take me, Fai'en!" he screamed through tears, grabbing as much of her as he could hold. "I do not wish the madness to consume me any longer!" Another batch of shadows wrapped around her appendages from behind. They ripped her from him and sent her slamming back into the wall. "Fai'en!" The boy screamed, clawing at the air. "Hel-" She watched in horror, his body pulled into the blackness. He tried to scream, onyx poured into his mouth. More shadows arced out of the blobs bubbling around him and crisscrossed him away.

Nina squeezed wet eyes closed and turned her head.

**You are not allowed near him.**

A shadow came out from the wall beside her and morphed into a hand. It grasped her chin and turned her to _him_, glaring at her with eyes like hot embers. It threw broad shoulders back, thrust out its chest. Long white hair floated in the air as though in water. Darkness crawled across the walls of the room, engulfed the furniture around Nina. Nothing took her from those bright burning coals.

**He belongs to me and _only _me.**

The shadow hand reached up. Two fingers shut, then reopened her eyes.

**Awaken.**

* * *

Nina awoke staring with streaming eyes at the ceiling of her canopy bed.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

_Why Are You Acting As Though You Have a Choice?_

Nina leaned over the edge of the courtyard outer wall and stared down at the slumbering city of Wyndia below, letting the cool mountain breeze pull her hair back from her face. It was late, and there were no guards around this particular part of the yard, which meant she was dangerously alone with only the dim, pale orange light of a single nearby lantern illuminating her.

Part of her mind screamed to turn tail and run back to her room where there was company and safety right _now_, while another yearned unhealthily for the monster to appear again.

Only he had the answers to what was going on inside of her head.

She gripped the short wall with shaking hands. The very thought of seeing him again - the adult version – sent waves of crippling fear over her. Pure madness had gripped her in the few moments he merely stood near; was she ready to possibly feel that again?

Foolish, she thought, ragged breath matching her trembling. It was so easy to think she was strong enough to stand up to such a thing while lying there safe in her bed accompanied by Chasta, with no chance at all of being attacked. But here, out in the open...

His presence would not be known until he allowed it to be, and she couldn't stand the suspense. What was he going to do? Was he going to pop out suddenly from the darkness, arms brandishing those sharp bone blade things he had in her dream, ready to tear apart her flesh? Or was he simply hiding in the shadows now, mocking her predicament with that irritating smirk plastered across his bastard face? "Damn it...just come out already, will you?" she pleaded barely above a whisper.

"Ah, seems I'm not as stealthy as I would like to be."

Nina whirled around, heart leaping into her throat before she realized it was common tongue that met her ears. Ethan stood slightly out of the lanterns range, his armored form draped in shadows. "Oh! It's you!" she gasped, clasping a hand over her chest.

"You were expecting someone?" he asked, stepping into the light.

"N-no," She couldn't possibly expect him to believe something as ludicrous as an 'invisible man', could she? "I just...well..." she looked up into his curious face and searched for the bearings she suddenly dropped before his incredible gaze.

He smiled, and went to lean against the wall beside her. "You still come to the courtyard when you can't sleep?" he asked, looking down at her.

She crossed her arms and turned her flustered face away from him, trying to remember she was angry. "Why are you even out here?" she asked with an exaggerated edge.

"I'm your guardian. It is my job to guard you at all times."

"Really? At _all_ times?"

Ethan shrugged, still smiling. "I apologize for not being able to protect you from nightmares, my lady," he said with a polite chuckle and Nina's face lit on fire.

"That's not what I meant!"

He paused, sighing gently. "Princess, you know just as well as I do, that I do not have the authority to change anything that happens to you," his tone went serious and guilt began to spread over that anger, for she _did_ indeed know that. "I can only wish you luck in your future, and hope that fate shall smile one day upon another meeting for us, although...it is highly unlikely that will ever happen."

Each word leaving his lips felt like a different knife plunging into her heart, each more jagged than the one before it.

"I don't want it to end like this," she blurted after what felt to her like an eternity of staring out into the vast starry night, blinking back tears.

"It has to."

There were no sounds other than the winds blowing against the castle and courtyard trees for a long time. Nina peered down at the drop from there to the bottom layer of the castle, estimating how much of a fall it really was. She wondered, in almost a dreamy manner, if Ethan would try to catch her if she should happen to fall.

"It's rather late, and you have much to do in the morning, Princess," Ethan was the first to speak, placing a hand on her shoulder when he did. She flinched at the touch. "Come, I'll escort you back to your bedroom."

So that was it, and that was how he was going to leave it.

"Yes, Sir Von Buren," she said softly, following him somberly back into the castle, eyes resting on Wyndia's crest carved into the back plate of his prominent armor. The sight of it made some of the anger break away from the mass of guilt trying to smother it.

It wasn't fair how much power that crest had over their lives.

* * *

Nina slept well, due to a spell she had cast on herself after an hour of sitting in her bed, worrying uncontrollably about Ludia and Ethan. In fact, it was such good sleep, she almost slept clear through the morning. She slowly opened red rimmed eyes to three handmaidens plus Chasta yelling and shaking her shoulders all while jumping on her bed.

"Nina? Nina! What the hell is _wrong_ with you? You know better than to put a sleep spell on yourself in the middle of the night! Those things are, at minimum, _ten_ hours! When did you even cast it?" Chasta cried all at once, throwing covers back and yanking the princess out of her bed by an arm.

Nina fumbled around, confused at her appendages not moving the way she wanted them to. "I...dunno...I cunnat' sleep," she slurred groggily, stumbling on wobbly, tingling legs.

"Gee, you think?"

The other handmaidens helped Chasta somewhat steady Nina, and opened her bedroom door. "We have the bath ready, Lady Chasta," one more called from the hallway.

"Good, tell the others to get some clothes together. They'll be here in less than an hour!" Chasta huffed, dragging the disoriented princess out into the hallway.

"Less thannan 'our?" Nina tried to fight her way through the spell's befuddlement, but the blackness pulsing and surrounding her vision was too strong to hold back.

"Yes Nina, now come on, we have to- damnit! She's out again!"

The princess' head dropped and she lost all contact with the world.

* * *

Nina and Chasta stood at the castle gates, along with probably every soul in Wyndia, watching the far horizon for Ludia's royal carriage to appear. Trumpets blared from the tops of the castle's tall, ivory gates, played by noble-winged soldiers. Confetti fell like glittering, colorful snow around them. People were everywhere - from the streets to the balconies of every building- all screaming and waving their arms into the cloudless, sunny sky. Nobles milled about the gates near the girls, mingling and eating from platters of appetizers handmaidens were walking around with; part of a sort of private arrangement for those important enough to see, up close, Wyndia's historic payment to Ludia take place.

"Stand up straight!" Nina heard a hiss come from...well she thought it was from the left. Oh right, she thought slowly, she was with Chasta.

"Yes m'am!" The princess chirped, then yawned loudly. Her eyelids felt like they had thousand pound weights attached to them; it was almost too much to open them a sliver. She swayed to the side again and Chasta caught her before she swayed the other way.

"I'm sorry..." Nina murmured for the hundredth time to her friend, feeling like her mind was trudging through waist deep mud to catch up with her body. "I didn't get to spend time with you or Isabella..."

It took five handmaidens to bathe and dress her – so she was told - and Nina barely remembered any of it; only the constant flickering in and out of consciousness she had. She gained the use of her legs again only moments from her exiting the castle.

"Don't worry," she said tightening her grip on her shoulder, her bright pink nails shimmered in the sunlight. "Under all of that stress, I think I might've done the same thing. I forgive you."

"...Thank you," Nina whispered back, emotion stealing her voice.

"Lady Chasta, are all of the Princess' belongings in order?" bellowed a loud voice. Both girls looked up (Nina a little slower than Chasta) to see the king stroll through a group of conversing nobles, towards them.

Chasta bowed low as he approached. "Yes, your majesty, everything is packed and ready to go with her to Ludia."

Nina cautiously stepped back on lead legs and leaned heavily against the castle gates. The king scowled at her. "You still have that harlot mask on."

What did he care? She thought through the sludge. She signed the papers already; now he was just being a bully. She didn't know how Chasta had handled her injury in front of the other handmaidens, but she guessed since she had the makeup on: it was still not looking good.

"Leave me alone," she said, forcing her eyelids halfway up. "I'm Ludia's problem now."

The king's face reddened when a few nearby nobles looked their way. Chasta tensed. He leaned down close to the princess' expressionless face, breathing hard through his nose. _"_Don't you _dare_ talk so casually to me in front of the nobles!"

She leaned forward, milking more of the burst of confidence the spell's drunkenness was giving her, and smirked in front of his purpling cheeks. "What do you care? You're getting rid of me anyway-"

"Sire, I believe I see Ludia's carriage in the distance!" cried Chasta pointing, stepping in to save the princess -and hers- hides. Nina and the king turned their heads in her finger's direction and saw a huge white and royal blue carriage crest a faraway hill. Confetti fell in heaps and Nina's heart slammed against her ribcage, disintegrating a bit of her haze in a jolt of new found energy. The crowd started to cheer louder. Chasta grabbed her hand, pity painted on her face when the princess looked back at her.

"Good riddance, brat," Nina's father spat at her as he turned away sharply. She watched him walk over to the other side of the gates where Ethan and Asheton were standing.

Her eyes lingered on her red headed childhood friend, the king's hateful remark quickly becoming lost in the despair now engulfing her heart. Ethan was nodding importantly to the chubby adviser, smiling that breathtaking smile of his. When the king walked up, he immediately snapped to attention and saluted officially.

She loved Ethan, and she didn't think she could love anyone else like she did him.

She wanted nothing more than to be in his arms right now, listening to him tell her everything was going to be alright, that this whole situation was a horrible dream she was going to wake up from right...now! She closed her eyes, then wrenched the heavy lids back up again. Ludia's carriage was still coming.

Chasta pulled Nina into a tight hug that jerked her out of one angst, into another. "I'm going to miss you, Nina!" she cried burying her face in the princess' neck. "I promise I'll take care of Izzie for you!"

Nina wished Isabella was there. The little Wyndian was banned from being anywhere near the public because of extremists falsely claiming the onyx in her wings was spreading; a possible catalyst for mass panic.

She held back tears and kept a regal mask. "Thank you, my dearest friend...I really do thank you from the bottom of my heart," she said into her hair, hugging her as tight as her numbed arms would let her. "Tell my sister I'm sorry I couldn't see her before I left."

The trumpets sounded out a different tune and Ludia's massive carriage pulled into the castle gates, six of the most brilliant white armored stallions leading the way. Nina took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, staring hard at the door of the vehicle, still holding onto Chasta. Was the prince here? Please Goddess, let it be only Nichol, she thought desperately. Handmaidens rushed to kneel on either side of the door, Nina's heart banged harder against her ribs as one reached up to open it.

The princess' spirits were crushed when out came her worst nightmare, dressed immaculately as usual. He wore a clean white suit; shirt, tie, pants, jacket, everything white, and over it, royal robes that normally only a king would wear. The deep blue fabric shimmered in the sunlight, as did the golden lion stitched across the back she saw when he turned to wave at the crowds. "Hey, Nina he doesn't look..._too_ much like a girl," Chasta commented, sniffling. Nichol followed the prince out of the carriage, wearing his own official attire. The crowd went wild. Some booed, lots cheered. Women, teenagers, and little girls alike were seen swooning and screaming over the prince. He flipped his long blonde hair back behind him at the attention and batted long lashed eyes. "Okay, maybe I'm wrong," Chasta laughed.

Soldiers came up behind them and Chasta was suddenly plucked out of her grasp. The princess held on firmly to her hand until it was politely wrenched free. "Goodbye, Nina!" Chasta cried, eyes shining. "Use the communicator when you get to Ludia!" Nina watched her best friend get swallowed up by the thick packs of nobles now crowding around her, throat tightening.

There were hundreds of people practically breathing down her neck, and yet at this very moment, she had never felt more alone in her entire life.

"Come Princess Nina, the prince is waiting," A soldier appeared out of the mass of unfamiliar faces all seeming to meld together around her, and took her arm gently. He coaxed her through the large crowds of nobles moving in to get a better look at the prince. "Make way for Princess Nina!" he called, the nobles parted when they realized they were in front of her. She smiled weakly at their apologizes and took their best wishes with nods of the same caliber.

Prince Vahn's eyes lit up when he saw her approach, she swallowed hard to keep her stomach from emptying itself of whatever breakfast Chasta had stuffed into her -probably unconscious- mouth earlier. The soldier left her in front of Vahn. She focused all her energy on keeping herself looking coherent. The last thing she needed was to pass out in front of the whole city.

"Greetings, my love," said Vahn, bowing low to her.

"Good Morning, Princess Nina," greeted Nichol, bowing behind him.

She cringed inwardly, but the smile never faltered on her face. "Greetings, Prince Vahn, Adviser Talbo-," she said curtsying. Well, it would have been a curtsy, had she not tripped on still weak legs when she stepped forward.

Tripped, right into Vahn's arms.

The roar of the crowd was deafening. Nina looked up at the prince from his shirt, in complete disbelief that _that _had actually just happened. He smiled, gripping her tighter. His strong cologne made her nose crinkle. "I didn't know you were sohappy to see me," he laughed and she started to pull away.

"N-no, forgive me, I fell-" He placed one hand on the side of her head and pulled her up into a kiss.

The nobles "ooh"ed and "ahh"ed and the crowd again went into a frenzy. More glitter fell from the sky. Nina pulled back from him as gingerly as she could handle, resisting an almost overpowering urge to sock him in the jaw. "Oh...Prince Vahn...you really _shouldn't _have..." she said sweetly through gritted teeth and stepped away from him.

Her foot slipped on the way back, but the prince kept a hold of her hand – unconsciously steadying her - and knelt down. "Shall we?" he asked smiling, motioning towards the carriage with his other hand.

Nina turned around and took a long last look at castle Wyndia, a place she had spent nineteen years of her life in. She looked at the soldiers, the handmaidens, the nobles, all clapping joyfully for her "happiness" against a backdrop of the mountain side ivory castle who's walls were all she knew.

Wyndia really _was_ a beautiful place, she thought fondly. What was she going to do without that amazing view outside her window to wake up to in the morning?

Her gaze suddenly met Ethan's amongst the nobles – his bright red hair was a magnet to the eye – and he saluted her. Her stomach twisted into a knot so painful, she wanted to double over and die right there.

What was she going to do without her one true love?

The prince tugged at her hand and she turned away from her home, tears building higher and almost overflowing the public dam she had set up.

"Goodbye, my love..." she mouthed to herself, and stepped into the carriage.

* * *

Prince Vahn talked all the way to Ludia and Nina didn't hear a single word he said. The 'smile and nod' mode she set herself on seemed to suffice.

There were four soldiers in the carriage, one on either side of the princess and Vahn, who sat across from each other. Nichol was riding with driver. Even though the compartment was large, the two beside Nina were still cramped from the width of her wings, she had to constantly, tiresomely hold them close to her.

All she could think about was the uncertainty growing within her. What was going to happen now? She was heading to stay in a foreign land, a place where it was known people of her kind were not welcome. What would she do if the people hated Vahn's decision and rioted; or worse, sent something terrible like an assassin after her?

She shuddered, was glad Vahn couldn't see the turmoil behind that smile and nod.

* * *

"You will be staying in this room for tonight, Princess," Vahn announced, opening one of Ludia's many gothic looking doors within the – Nina thought the place looked depressingly dark now – castle, to reveal a similar themed room. Nina walked in, followed by the four soldiers that rode with her carrying her luggage. They set her bags on the floor by a large bed with a dark wooden canopy over it. "I hope it is to your liking."

Nina picked up one of the suitcases and flung it onto the bed. "Thank you, Prince Vahn, it's fine," she said opening and rummaging through it. She didn't feel any kind of influential magic upon entering the castle, or from the prince, which made her think the spell was either concentrated only in the courtyard, or it really was _that _big of a deal to get her to sign those papers without any trouble yesterday.

"I'm glad. I'd also like to introduce you to your new assistant. Lissa, come over here!" him say, and she turned around.

A girl around her age -probably younger- bounced into the room and curtsied in front of her. She was pale like Vahn, and had white blonde hair pulled up into two high pigtails. They curled down the sides of her head and bounced along with her. "Hello there, Princess Nina! My name is Lissa! I'm here to be your assistant, friend, whatever you may need!" The girl looked up. Cats eye black liner encircled bright blue eyes, one with a beauty mark underneath. Matte ruby red lips formed an _o _and she stood up straight, clasping her hands together with a gasp. "Wow, Prince Vahn you were right, she _is _gorgeous!" she exclaimed. "And I _lo~ve _her outfit!"

Nina blushed. She was wearing another corset-top type cream and dark blue trimmed dress with an equally dark blue jacket. It was nice, but hardly as great as she insinuated. "It's nice to meet you," she said curtsying back. The sleep spell had faded about halfway through her trip there, so she did it this time without problem.

Vahn laughed. "I'll leave you two to get acquainted. I'm sure you have much to do to get ready for the ceremony tomorrow." Nina swallowed at the wretched word.

Lissa answered for them both. "Yes! We have to get her dress fitted, and you can't see it until tomorrow!" the blonde cried, pushing him towards the door. "So shoo, shoo! Get out!"

"I'm going, I'm going!" he laughed and she shoved him out into the hallway. "_Honestly_," she sighed, slamming the door closed. "He's like a child sometimes!"

Nina studied the girl. Knee high striped stockings reminded her too much of Chasta.

There was a knock at the door, Lissa opened it to three other handmaidens holding a sparkling white dress between them. They rushed in with it and, after gushing over Nina like Lissa did (this was making Nina feel a _little_ better about the humans) and reassuring her "No, Vahn did _not _see the dress just now", brought out a stool for her to stand on by a full length mirror. They then waited patiently for her to try the dress on.

Nina stared into their anticipated faces, not able to think of a single thing to say that would not make them think she was crazy for wanting to go into the closet and change. Lissa raised penciled on eyebrows at her hesitation and walked behind her after a long awkward minute. "Let's try on the dress, my lady. I can't _wait _to see how it looks on you!" she said unzipping her without consent. Nina gave up and figured at least she had undergarments on.

After much struggle with her wings, Nina finally stood before the mirror and four gasping human girls, in one of the most beautiful dresses she had ever seen. It was strapless and hugged her body snugly with vintage lace until it reached her mid-thigh, where it tapered off into a sheer, lace splotched shimmering trail long enough to drag the floor. The fabric was dusted with pearl powder, the seams and a cluster of flowers near the left shoulder shimmered with real diamonds. Gloves of the same lace, also boasting a pearl sheen and a trail of glittering gems, fit to her elbows.

Lissa squealed with delight, "Princess, you look...oh words can't describe it!"

Fake Chasta was right, she looked _amazing _in that dress. "Thanks..."

One of the other handmaidens snapped out of her awe and came closer to inspect it. "I think we just need to take it up a little bit here in the waist and then it's done." She said with pins in her mouth. She pulled a pinch of fabric up at her waistline and took one out to hold it in place.

"Prince Vahn is going to _die _when he sees you walk down the aisle!" Lissa gushed excitedly, picking up Nina's hair and separating it into sections behind her, humming. She held the back up and played with the pieces in front that were falling down with black nailed hands. "Now we just have to figure out what to do with your hair..."

Nina stared at the bubbly blonde concentrating on her honey mane, stomach wrenching at the thought of her walking down the aisle to a face like Vahn's. Panic flashed briefly, and her eyes darted to a window to her left. It was open, the curtains were waving in a gentle breeze.

Jump out, her mind screamed and she actually had to convince herself it was a bad idea. Who knew? What if this "assistant" girl wasn't really a handmaiden, but a spy sent to act as a friend to make sure she didn't pull a fast one and run?

"Princess Nina?"

Nina broke free of her imagination. "I'm sorry, yes?"

Lissa had gathered up all of her hair and had it in a hurried, elegantly loose up-do. "Do you like it?" she asked.

"Yes! It's great! It goes perfect with the style of the dress," the princess said smiling. Lissa beamed.

"You know," she said, leaning in front of her and pulling out some more hair to hang in front. "We all were for sure you were a spoiled brat, but you're actually pretty nice."

Humans were humans after all. At least this one was being honest. "Thanks?" Nina hazarded.

Lissa shrugged. "Can you blame us? Your wings are so beautiful...If I had them...I know I'd look down on anyone who didn't."

"It's common in Wyndia," Nina said, "Nobles have the same ones as me."

"It's _so _much better than being a _boring _human, though...am I right?"

Nina couldn't think of a polite reply. She _did_ think humans were boring, compared to other races. There was nothing outstanding about any of them except for maybe the Ludian royal bloodline.

Lissa's face broke into a wide smile at her silence and she laughed. "It's a rhetorical question, don't look so worried, Princess. Now, come on. Let's get out of this dress, I'll show you around the castle."

* * *

Castle Ludia was about the same size as Wyndia, with a lot less towers. There were five parts: the royal family wing, the nobles wing, the servants wing, the dining hall, and the courtyard. The soldier's barracks/cafeteria were a separate building out behind the main structure.

Lissa talked nonstop throughout the tour, telling her about each room, some experience she had in that room, some experience someone _else _had in that room, anything that seemed to pop into the little blonde's head she felt the need to say a loud. Nina found she rather liked Lissa, despite the 'spy' theory. No one would ever replace Chasta, but she figured someone stepping in for a bit might not be so bad.

Nina learned she was actually not a servant, but a distant cousin of the princes' as well as a childhood friend of his. (She had wondered why the handmaiden was able to shove him so roughly from her room earlier without consequence) and basically had free reign in the castle, as long as she helped out with taking care of guests that visited. She was also only sixteen.

Nina asked if she could do magic, and Lissa told her the noble blood was so thin within her, the common part must've overshadowed any hope of powerful magical talent; She was stuck with only the ability to perform temporary cosmetic enchantments. "Your makeup is going to look _fabulous_," she promised, touching a finger to her lips and changing their bright red hue to a deep mauve, almost black color in an instant.

They ate lunch in the courtyard, and Nina still felt the influential magic's energy probing at her, though it was considerably weaker than yesterday, confirming her earlier thoughts. What a jerk. she thought with diluted annoyance.

"The Prince is a great man, you're so lucky to have been chosen by him," Lissa said suddenly during the meal, and Nina looked up from a plate of sautéed vegetables, eyebrows raised. "For one, he's gorgeous." (Nina held her tongue) "And he's very respectful towards women."

The princess almost spit out her food with that one. The prince? _Respectful _towards women? What was it about her that was apparently bringing the 'creepy' out of this guy? "Really?" she asked swallowing.

"Yes," the blonde nodded. "He's always so polite and charming...not like most men, you know? There are _so_ many noble girls who want to rip your throat out."

Nina blinked at her. What was he doing, brainwashing these girls?

"But alas, he's been in love with you ever since he saw you at that one world leaders meeting years ago. And who can blame him? You are the first Wyndian I have ever seen, and the rumors of your kind looking akin to angels are more than true," she said.

"Y-you flatter me," said Nina meekly. This was going to take some getting used to. In Wyndia, there were so many nobles with wings like hers; even Ethan was equipped with the same ones. These people were acting as though she were a deity from another world. "So what all do we have to do to get ready for the ceremony tomorrow?" she asked, not in the least bit interested in knowing, but dying to take the conversation off of her directly.

"Oh!" Lissa sat up. "Well, we will have to go over what you'll be doing during the actual ceremony. You know, where you come in, where you'll walk...things like that." She rattled off a few more things about the wedding. "Then, we'll probably meet up with Vahn again later for dinner."

So the day was going to go like that.

Nina sighed and slid down in her chair, eyes drifting to the communicator box still strapped onto her arm. She had tried to use it earlier and only got static in return.

"Princess, are you ready to go to the rehearsal?" Lissa's voice cut through her thoughts.

No, said her mind. "Of course," said her lips. What was she to do? She couldn't tell her she never wanted to see Vahn's girlish face ever again.

"Alright!" Lissa cried, clapping and alerting servants to come take their plates. "I can't wait to see what you two look like at the altar!"

Nina got up after the giddy blonde, shaking her head gently at her back and closed her eyes.

She could.

* * *

'Dinner with Vahn' ended up being 'Dinner with Nichol and Lissa' in Ludia's main dining hall, but that didn't bother Nina in the least bit.

They talked about the ceremony, and what was going to happen during it: Various speeches from relatives and important people, music, and then her walking down the aisle. They were getting married on an altar that was going to be set out in front of the castle. The driveway lined with rosebushes was going to be her aisle.

Vahn was absent from the rehearsal as well, and Nichol had taken his place at the altar. Even though it wasn't the real thing, and not the right person; having to say things like "I promise to love unconditionally until death do us part" to someone she didn't know was unbearable.

She felt each lie leave her lips, thoughts laced with hatred. How could these people expect her to make vows they _must _know she could, in no way, actually mean?

She remembered the eyes of all of Vahn's relatives on her as she was prompted to say "I do", the anger deep inside of her bubbling. How she loathed every single one of those humans for standing there, watching the rehearsal of the moment her life would be ruined, with smiles sketched across their pompous faces.

The princess stared at her practically full dinner plate, mildly listening to Nichol and Lissa rattle on about the "momentous" occasion, watching a rogue tear dive over the dam and splash onto the side of it.

* * *

After dinner, Lissa led Nina back to her room, and both girls were surprised to see Prince Vahn waiting inside, sitting cross legged on her bed.

"Prince Vahn! What are you doing here?" asked Lissa, placing her hands on her hips. "Where have you been all day?"

He smiled. "I've been busy," he said, standing up. He walked to the handmaiden and placed a hand on the small of the girl's back. "Moving the wedding up so soon had me booked all day rearranging plans, but never fear, I've replayed our ceremony plenty of times in my mind. I do believe I have it memorized _perfectly_." He winked at Nina. There came the nausea, right on cue. "Now, if you don't mind, Lady Lissa, I would like to speak with my fiance privately," he said, gently ushering the girl to the door. We've been separated all day and I _dreadfully _missed her." Nina's stomach plummeted.

Oh gods no, she did _not_ want to be left alone with this man!

Lissa crossed her arms at him from her new position outside the doorway. "Fine, but if I find out you peeked at her dress in the closet, you'll be in _trouble_!" she huffed, stamping her foot. "It's bad luck to see the bride's dress before the wedding!"

Prince Vahn chuckled. "Don't worry, such a thing is far from my mind."

"Al~right..." the blonde said after some hesitation, in which Nina hoped she would suddenly remember something else she had to show the princess way on the other side of the castle. "Well goodnight, Princess! I'll come help you get ready in the morning," Lissa said waving to her.

Nina wanted to scream for her not to leave, but all she could do was wave weakly back at her. After everything nice Lissa had said about him, there was no way she would believe her.

Vahn leaned back against the door and slowly closed it. Nina fingered the skirt of her dress at her sides nervously. Little hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to participate in today's activities with you, love," he said rolling his head over to peer at her. "I take it Lissa took care of you all day? I hope she treated you well." She nodded briskly, watching his hand move to the doorknob.

A faint _click _floated into the air, and Nina realized, stomach sinking even lower, he had just locked it.

"Y-yes, it was a pleasure to make her acquaintance," she said, backing up when he walked past her to the bed. "I-I had no idea she was related to you." No matter what, she was going to try to keep the conversation off of her.

"Oh. Yes, a distant cousin I believe," he sat down and pulled his hair and tie loose. He was still wearing the white suit from earlier, sans the jacket and royal robes. "Would you like to have a seat?" he asked, giving her a sly, sideways glance and patting the bed beside him.

Nina shook her head too quickly. "N-no, I'm quite alright standing," she said with a nervous laugh and he chuckled back at her.

"You're so shy," he said coyly, getting up and walking towards her.

So much for keeping off the attention.

She backed up against a tall dresser when he leaned in close, trapping her with one hand on the wood behind her. The other caressed the side of her face. "I wonder why that is?" Fingers went into her hair, lips touched her earlobe. "Is it because you're afraid to feel a man's touch?" he breathed.

Nina ducked quickly out from underneath his arm and hopped away from him. "I-I don't think this is appropriate, P-prince Vahn," she stammered, watching him reach up and unbutton the first three buttons of his shirt, pale eyes locking her in a hungry stare.

"What's the difference between tonight and tomorrow? We're going to be married regardless."

This couldn't happen... Not now! Not before it absolutely had to!

He positioned himself between her and the door and she swallowed hard, "It's b-bad l-luck to...do something like that before we r-receive the Goddess's blessings," she stammered, mouth going bone dry.

"Such silly superstitions, love," he purred closing in. The back of her legs hit the side of the bed. "My mind was filled with nothing but you all day, I cannot wait any longer, I _won't_ wait any longer!"

"V-vahn, I don't think-" he placed a hand on her chest and shoved her back onto the bed. "What are you do-"

He crawled on top of her and forced his lips down onto hers. She pushed at his torso with all of her strength, but couldn't manage to budge the human an inch. Both knees went for his stomach and he grabbed one of her legs to hold tight at his side, while using one of his own to pin her other one down before she made contact. His other hand gripped a shoulder and held it hard against the mattress.

"...S-stop it, that hurts!" she cried through sloppy kisses and his hair, feeling her leg was going to snap under his weight. "I don't want to-" He took his hand off of her shoulder and grasped the front of her dress in a tight pale fist. In one barbaric motion, he tore it open, revealing lacy bits of pink fabric that -Nina saw with disgust- excited him even more.

He pulled back a bit to look at her, licking his lips. "I promise you'll be feeling good in a minut-" He was cut short by her hand striking him across his face.

"You stop this right _now_!" she cried, trying to cover herself, face flushed in devastating humiliation. "I am the Princess of Wyndia, and I _will _not have you treat me in such a way!" tears burned the corners of her eyes. She watched him reach up slowly and touch where she had hit him. "Now, get off of me this _instant_!"

She had to do it, she had to hit him! This was self defense! The council had to realize that!

Cold, bitter eyes narrowed. He took his free hand and struck _her _across the face.

It was hard enough to turn her head to the side, and she stared at the wall in front of her, dazed, trying to register the fact that he had actually struck her back. He grasped her jaw in his hand and roughly made her face him again. He leaned down, his thick, soft hair collecting on her exposed skin. "Why are you acting as though you have a _choice_, girl?" he snarled at her, spittle flecking her cheeks. "You signed those papers...you are no longer the Princess of Wyndia, you are _my property_," the hand holding her shook with the last two words. "And I can do _whatever_ I damn well please with my own property, so lay there and _shut up_. "

Nina stared at him, afraid to breathe or blink. So this was her fiance. This was the man she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with, the man she was supposed to have _children _by.

He snatched both of her hands in one of his and thrust them above her head, while he dragged his lips down her neck and over her collarbone. His hand holding her leg reached underneath her dress and she turned her head back towards the wall again. She wouldn't watch, she didn't want to remember any of this.

But it was going to happen again, her mind darkly reminded her. And again and again and again; every night from now on, and there was nothing she could do about it. Tears rolled down the sides of her face as she felt his hand slide up her leg and she bit her lip hard.

If this was how life was going to be, she may have to make sure there was no tomorrow.

Out of the corner of a streaming eye, she saw a streak of navy flash by, and one of the boards from the top of the canopy ceiling came crashing down on the prince's head.

Nina gawked, shaking uncontrollably, at Vahn's now unconscious body splayed out over hers, his head lolling on her heaving chest. Slowly, she pulled herself out from under him and backed up against the bed's dark wood headboard, bringing a finger up to her lips so she could destroy the nail in an anxious fit of biting.

Was he unconscious? Was he _dead_? What if he _was _dead? She had no idea what just happened. How could she know what had just happened? What was she going to say to the council about _this_?

Calm down, a sorcerer like him wouldn't die from something so ridiculous, a thought forced its way in front of all the others, and she watched - heart slamming against her chest - the prince's arms start to twitch.

He raised his head slowly and blinked at her. "Wh-what happened?" he asked groggily.

She couldn't speak, her teeth were chattering too hard.

He glanced back at the board laying across his back, then to the canopy ceiling, gathering up what he could. "Hmm..." he said bowing his head down. He heaved himself up, the board slid to the floor. Body going numb, she expected him to all of a sudden pounce on her again, but he merely stood and rubbed the back of his head. "I think you were right about the bad luck, Princess," he said, grinning like nothing had happened. She stared at him with wide, watery eyes. "Like you said, we must receive the Goddess' blessings before doing anything of the naughty sort, I suppose."

He was acting like this was a joke. A goddessdamned _joke!_ Nina grit her teeth and glared at him, shaking from both rage and terror.

"Get a good night's sleep, Princess, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow...or should I say, long night," he laughed, buttoning back up his shirt and tightening his tie. He walked over to the door and unlocked it. "Goodnight, my love, " he purred, touching his fingers to his lips and blowing a kiss to her.

She tried to call him a 'bastard' but nothing came out.

The door closed and she sat frozen on the bed for a long while staring hard at it, tears rolling down her cheeks. The one still stung where he had struck her. Her heartbeat was deafening in her ears. Was he going to come back? Please Goddess don't let him come back! She pleaded inwardly with all of her faith, wrapping her arms around herself, trying to block out the memory of his exploring hands.

"It's alright, he's gone."

Her head snapped in the direction of that all too familiar voice - the voice that seemed to pull and intertwine itself with her very soul - and there _he_ stood in the shadows, staring at her with those in-humanly yellow eyes. He was wearing shiny, new (Ludian, she also noticed) chain mail and armor. The same tattered crimson cloak was wrapped around his shoulders and his hair fell in scraggly strands in front of his face like always.

This time, however, she was slightly less afraid.

"Y-you saved me, didn't you...?" she found her voice and shakily switched to old Wyndian, wiping her eyes.

The flash of blue was just like in her dream where he had saved her from the shadows, and the board on the floor was cleanly sliced on both sides. Did this mean, he was a _good_ guy?

He reached up and pulled his cloak from around his shoulders and before her dazed look, tossed it to her. "Put this on. I will subject you to derogatory stares no longer," he said turning his head.

She caught the cloak, eying him strangely, "W-Why would you care about what was happening to me?"

"Maybe I do not approve of that sort of violence."

"'Do not approve'? Aren't you a mon-"

"I am _no _monster!" growled the man in a low voice back at her with as much hatred in his tone as when he first awoke in the ruins. "I am a _dragon_!" he tossed his head haughtily.

Her eyes widened. A...dragon?

"I am the second prince of the Light dragon clan hailing from Drogen, Ryu Fyrion Braxton," he stated importantly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ryu Fyrion Braxton? Light dragon clan of Drogen? Why did it sound familiar? She had never heard of any of it before!

She wrapped the cloak around her and stood slowly from the bed. It smelled of dirt. She sneezed, shook her head. "Wait, What? What do you mean you're a dragon? There are no dragons! They haven't existed for centuries, so how...could you be one...m-much less a _prince _of them?'!" she asked, and he 'shh'ed her.

"You make too much noise, Fai'en," he hissed and her jaw dropped.

"What did you just call me?"

"'Fai'en'," he answered sharply, "'Winged-one'."

It was exactly what the child version of him was calling her. How could she have heard a word first in a dream that she had never before while awake? She grabbed a hold of herself. "Why are you here?"

"Because this," he spread his arms out and turned from side to side, "all of this is not going to work. Ludia, the humans, his..._fascination_ with you..." He shook his head, shuddering. "I felt him strike you, felt him grab you, Ladon knows what I would have felt if I would've let him have his way..."

"What do you mean you 'felt'?"

"Exactly what I stated, must I repeat? I 'felt' him hit you and I interfered."

"I'm still not following! How do you feel things that happen to me?"

"My soul is inside of you."

Nina stared at him for a long time, trying to comprehend the nonsense he just said.

"And I believe a bit of yours have attached itself to me," he continued. She stayed silent, his jaw tightened. "Don't look at me like I'm spouting absurdity!" snarled the dragon. She bit her lip. He winced along with her when the wound on it opened up. "I wish you would quit _doing_ that," he said, angrily wiping away a trickle of blood. She did the same with a trembling hand. "My eye as well," he said, lifting up his bangs and leaning into the light. Underneath one of his piercing yellow orbs was a small patch of black and blue skin. "Do you believe me now?"

She had to, with all this evidence being shoved before her.

"How...did something like this happen?" asked the Wyndian softly.

"The words you read to awaken me were a curse," Ryu growled. "My soul resides within you, so therefore I must protect you, for any physical harm you receive, I receive the same. I cannot leave your presence. The farther away I am from you, the less life there is flowing through my veins."

"B-but why? I don't understand..."

"I was cursed because I despise your kind," his voice continued to have a razor sharp edge. "I am not sure why you were chosen to suffer such a fate."

She swallowed, "and what sort of fate would that be, exactly?"

"I imagine the keeper experiences the same raging madness I do, since she is fortunate enough to harbor my dysfunctional soul."

The keeper. The madness. She _did _have his soul.

That memory in her dream, really _was _a memory of his and that little boys. She swallowed. Was he seeing memories of hers as well? "How do I give it back to you?" she asked, trembling at the thought of the demon in the darkness coming for her sanity like it did that child's.

"We must find survivors of Drogen; other dragons. Only they can tell us how to rid ourselves of such an ancient spell."

"Drogen?" That was where the child him took her in the dream, she suddenly remembered.

Ryu nodded. "The city of my people. It...may not exist anymore, but dragons live for hundreds of years. I pray some have managed to make it through the test of time."

"Isn't that a risky trip, if you don't even know whether the goal exists or not?"

"I will not stand around and do nothing! I'll do anything in my power to get my freedom back!" The dragon stood before her with his fists clenched and his eyes blazing. She didn't know anything about dragons, only that they were very old, very powerful beings supposedly wiped out over four hundred years ago. It made more sense now; the immense aura radiating off of him. Exactly how long had he been trapped underneath Wyndia?

"Don't you despise it all?" he asked suddenly, "The thoughts that aren't your own, constantly commenting on your perception of every little thing, the dreams deceiving your senses, the awful feeling you and I should meld together into one being so that the souls can finally unite and be at peace?"

She nodded slowly, eyes wide, relieved it was not only her.

"Then come with me," he repeated, "We've got to find a cure for this wretched dark art."

Nina pulled his cloak tighter around herself and shook her head. "It's impossible."

"Why?" he snapped.

"I'm supposed to marry the prince tomorrow! In front of the entire city! Ludia will annul it's treaty with Wyndia if I run away," she explained, "I have a little sister back home...I don't want her to be witness to a war I had a part in starting!"

"You'd rather stay here and be ravaged by that man every night?"

Nina cringed. What a way to put it. "I don't have a choice!"

"I'm supplying you with a very simple one: I can get you out of here."

"You're _wrong_!I _can't_ leave and I _don't_ have that choice! Vahn is one of the most powerful sorcerers in the eastern kingdoms...what makes you think we can actually get away from someone like that?"

"I got _in _without him noticing, and I cut the board from above him unscathed. That has to count for something, right?"

"Just a fluke..." Nina muttered and the dragon snorted. Vahn must have been too occupied with her to have noticed anything.

"We leave tomorrow before the wedding when the soldiers are distracted. There are too many milling about now, and I'm sure the man always walking around with the Prince spotted me-"

"I told you _no_!" she hissed. "I don't want Isabella to-"

"What if I gave you my word that when we fixed this problem, I would come back with you to rescue your sister?"

"Your word? How can I trust the word of someone I don't know?"

"If there is one thing you will learn about me, Fai'en...is that I _never _break my word."

Something stirred within her as she stared at his intensely serious face and somehow, she knew he was telling the truth. Was that his soul backing him up?

"What if we take too long and a war breaks out and she dies?"

"Then we kill whoever killed her."

He meant that too.

She glanced over at the door. "D-do you think he'll come back tonight?" she asked softly.

"I won't let him touch you if he does."

The tension in her body waned, escaping out of her in the form a long, broken sigh. She took off his cloak - making sure she was holding onto her torn dress- and walked over to the door, locking it so it would take that much more time for them to find out she was missing in the morning. "I'll trust you...for now," she whispered, looking back at him through her own disheveled mane. There wasn't another choice. Without him, she was alone.

He nodded, "Good." He walked over to the bed and snatched away one of the pillows. "I will be nearby, melded in the shadows. Do not worry, I sleep with one eye open."

"Thank you...Ryu," she said cautiously, unused to this 'monster' having a name.

"I do what I must."

"Um...so...how do you...'meld into the shadows' anyhow?" she asked his back when he climbed onto the edge of the window.

"Magic," he smirked looking back at her, and the shadows of the night swallowed his form along with the pillow.

"I see..." she mumbled, pulling the curtains closed.

She changed quickly and got into bed. Clutching the comforter tight in her hands, she tried to ignore the lingering smell of the prince's cologne attempting to jar unpleasant memories. Surprisingly, it wasn't so hard, considering she had something new to worry about.

There was a dragon's soul inside of her, and she wanted it out.

She closed her eyes, wondering if she tried, she could feel it, but all that echoed back at her was her own voice narrating its own thoughts. Her brow furrowed. His soul was just like him; only appearing on his stubborn terms.

She curled up into a ball underneath the covers and dug her hands into her hair. Once again, she pleaded to the Goddess to please let her open her eyes in the morning to find herself to be a simple commoner, living on the streets of Wyndia, with no idea about perverts or princes or dragons or _anything_ of the sort.

If you could only be so lucky, a haughty thought entered her consciousness as she fell into an unsteady sleep.

* * *

Nina awoke to thick hair wherever she could see and hands roughly grasping at her. She struggled with a huge weight pressing down on her, a familiar cologne invading her nostrils and freezing her blood solid in her veins.

Vahn!

He clapped a hand over her mouth when she tried to scream for the dragon and pressed himself harder against her.

The damn dragon lied, she thought bitterly, feeling Vahn's free hand tear at her clothes. He wasn't coming to save her. He was a lying, dirty son of a-

**Why do you insist on waiting for someone else to save you?**

Through a small gap in Vahn's blonde mane, she could see Ryu sitting in a chair near her casually, smiling a wide toothy smile.

**Don't you want the power to fight your own battles?**

She was wrong; it wasn't Ryu. It was the demon from her dreams, in a human-like form that _resembled_ Ryu, attacking her mind once again with that horrible, grating voice. Her small hands pulled at Vahn's over her mouth to no avail.

**Aren't you tired of being so pathetic?**

She swung at Vahn's face. He simply glanced at her fist, it flung backwards into the mattress. She pulled to swing again, couldn't; it was trapped by a strong invisible force. He did the same with her other hand, laughed as she continued struggling against it.

**If you desire, I can give you the strength to stand up for yourself.**

Demon-Ryu was kneeling beside the bed now, crimson eyes pulsing with a hot, red, glow under his long white bangs. Wide amber swiveled back to Vahn licking his lips at her and undoing his belt.

**Don't you **_**want**_ **to stand up for yourself?**

Yes. Yes she did. She'd give anything for this _not _to happen.

**Anything?**

I don't care! She thought desperately, trying to pull her legs out from under the advancing prince. Please give me the strength to stop this!

The demon smirked.

**As you wish, Keeper.**

Demon-Ryu's body collapsed away into thick black smoke that rose into the air and spiraled down into the princess' open nostrils. Her sinuses lit on fire and she screamed beneath Vahn's hand. Was it _sulfur _or something? It burned, seared through her lungs; she felt she could do nothing but scream into the prince's sweaty palm.

Then, all of a sudden, she felt it; the _power._

Her body jerked and thrashed, rose from the bed by her torso. Vahn jumped back, staring with wide, terrified eyes at her possessed looking form, his fingers flying to button back up his pants. Black lightning snaked down her arms, freed her wrists from his influence in a shower of sparks. She bowed forward before the bewildered prince. Her wings arced high in the air.

Whatever was surging through her veins, put her in a state of elation too intense to comprehend. She felt nothing in this world - monster or god - could stand in her way. She was smarter, faster, stronger...

Invincible.

Slowly her head lifted, and blood red eyes focused on Vahn through wild bangs. The prince cowered against one of the bed posts, his practically popping out eyes locked firmly on her wings, where each snow white feather was slowly morphing into a cawing raven flapping its own wings frantically. A wicked smile crawled across her darkened face as she pointed a finger at him.

She wanted nothing more than for him to be completely eradicated.

The ravens screamed and all dove at the prince in one fluid motion. He tried to cast a counter spell, but found it hard to do so after the first raven tore out his tongue. Nina watched, heart beating dangerously fast in the midst of ecstasy, as the prince was engulfed by the birds; all pecking and clawing mercilessly at his flesh. He shrieked and writhed for a few seconds within the mass of moving black feathers and suddenly went rigid.

The ravens returned to Nina's back, reshaping themselves into her wings, and she abruptly snapped out of the trance she was in at the sight of what was once Vahn, falling forward into a grotesque bloody mess on the bed. She gawked at his mangled form, with his face twisted into the most horrible expression she had ever seen, stomach feeling like it was being ripped out of her body. Her hands flew to cover her ears from the ravens' maddening cries.

She didn't mean to _kill _him! She just wanted him to go away!

**With such power, comes an equivalent price.**

Pain seared down her wings. Bloodied white feathers drifted into her line of sight. She looked back, and saw the ravens frantically pulling out the feathers of her returning wings. "Stop!" she cried reaching up to wave them off of her. Snapping beaks lunged at her hand. She yelped and pulled it away. Blood and feathers poured onto the bed; the pain was almost unbearable. "Stop!" she flailed at the birds again, caring not for the flesh they tore from her hands. "_Please stop!_"

In unison, all of the ravens bit down and the princess unleashed a bloodcurdling, soul wrenching scream.

* * *

Nina awoke with a start, surprisingly not screaming. She sat up in her bed sharply, looked frantically to her hands. Nothing, they were fine. She glanced around to gather her surroundings. Still in Ludia, in her temporary room. An early morning breeze gently played at her curtains, bits of pale sunlight streamed into the room. The princess slid out of bed. She decided to go ahead and call on the dragon. After a dream like that, she wanted nothing more than to exorcise this sickening entity. She refused to deal with this madness plaguing her soul any longer. As she walked by her mirror, something dark caught her eye and she halted mid step.

Time stopped as she turned and stared in horror, at flowing onyx feathers now attached to her back.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

_The Black Wings Change Everything_

_Angel of Death_

_Bringer of Darkness_

"N-no way..."

_Shadow Witch_

_Raven Princess_

"This can't... it can _not _be possible..."

_Midnight Maiden_

_Elanaar's Destroyer_

Nina's wide, frightened eyes focused behind her in the mirror, on dangerously beautiful onyx feathers the gentle morning breezes circulating her room were ruffling. Their hazy edges were faded and distorted, like the lone one Chasta had found in her bedroom the other day, and absorbed the pale morning light into them just as eerily.

_The Curse of the Endless Night_

This had to be a dream. There was no way she was standing here with the Angel of Death's wings upon her back. She pinched her forearm hard with a hand shaking so violently, she barely had control of it.

Not a second later, Ryu materialized on the window's edge, dreary-eyed and stretching his arms high above his head with the pillow he stole last night in hand. "That's the signal, a pinch?" he yawned loudly, "It's quite early, but I suppose if I were you, I'd want to get away from him as soon as possible too, eh Fai'en?" His strange eyes swiveled over to her wings. "They are...black now?" he asked slowly, head inclining.

A mask of terror appeared on her face. "Th-th-they're not white? They r-really...aren't...w-white?" All the color drained from her now clammy skin. Wobbly knees cemented to the floor. "N-no way...Y-you see them too..."

Ryu crawled down cautiously from the window, nostrils flaring, and tossed the pillow back onto the bed. "What does that mean?" he sat down on the floor like a cat might.

Her hands went into her hair, tears splashed against her bare knees. "It-it means I'm gonna d-d-d-" she swallowed hard and tried again. "I'm going to be e-e-exe-" she shuddered, mouth unable to form the words she needed.

"...Must be a side effect of being the keeper. You smell...draconian?" Ryu leaned towards her, sniffing the air audibly.

She turned to him slowly, glowering. "_You..._" Anger found her voice and forced it forward.

"_I _didn't do it to you, if that's what you're going to say," he still regarded her with feline curiosity.

"Yes you did!" she cried pointing at him. "Your soul came to me...It said it w-would give me the power to s-stand up for myself if I-"

"My soul did _what_? You didn't actually agree to something _he _asked you to, did you?" Ryu suddenly bristled, eyes going wild. "_Did you?_"

"Shut _up!_ Just _go away!_" Nina cried matching his look, reaching up and grasping a handful of dark feathers in her small pale fist. She clenched her teeth and ripped them out.

Ryu's back arched as pain seared through a phantom limb. She covered her mouth with her other hand and screamed into it. "Fai'en, what the _hell_ are you doing?" he tried to clutch at a wound that didn't exist.

"I can't have these...they can't be real! _The black wings can't be real!_" she shrieked madly, throwing the bloodied feathers onto the floor and reaching up to take out more.

"Princess Nina, are you alright? What wings? Who's in there with you?" Lissa's voice suddenly drifted through the door, the knob on it rattled loudly with her trying to open it. "H-hey, why is it locked?"

The handmaiden's voice tore her out of her fit. Nina went rigid, her hand stopped mid-pull. "Do something!" Ryu hissed behind her, swiftly swiping up the feathers from the floor and throwing them underneath the bed, holding his right shoulder in some attempt to subdue the fiery pain hovering over that area. Nina swallowed hard, tongue thick in her mouth.

Lissa pounded on the door with her fist. "Princess, do you need me to get help? Are you alright? Unlock the door!"

"_Fai'en!_" Ryu pleaded.

"I-I-I'm sorry I must've a-accidentally l-l-locked it," Nina stammered in common, eyes flicking to the mirror where she watched in disbelief, the black feathers grow back almost instantly over where she had just removed them.

"Why are you stuttering like that, Princess? Are you sure you're alright?" Lissa asked more urgently.

Ryu tugged at Nina's arm and she waved him back. "I mean it, _go away_," she snapped at him. "I want nothing to do with you and your soul!"

He gave her a blank stare and she realized, frustratingly, she had said that in common as well. She sighed and repeated it for him correctly.

"It doesn't work that way!" he growled back.

"Princess, I'm going to get help, something's not right..."

"N-no!" cried Nina quickly, mind going numb from jumping between languages so fast. "I-I'm fine! L-let me get on my dress and I'll be right out."

"What are you both talking about?" Nina shoved a finger angrily into the dragon's face to hush him.

"I want to help! Unlock the do~or!" The knob rattled again and Nina felt her panic nearly engulf her.

"But I'm _so _very m-modest!" she called back, somehow, by the grace of the Goddess, keeping control and thinking quickly. The Wyndian took off to the closet, threw open the door, and pulled out the wedding dress hanging inside. Whatever happened, she couldn't let anyone else dress her with these wings.

"You weren't yesterday!" Lissa whined, sounding like her mouth was against the crack of the door.

Nina tossed off her pajamas, ignoring Ryu's gaping stare, and stepped into the dress. "What are you doing? Why are you putting that on?"

"I'm getting the master key, Princess! You're not being fair!" Footsteps were heard clomping down the hallway.

"Damnit...!" Nina cursed, having problems with her wings.

"Answer me, Fai'en!" the dragon snarled impatiently.

Finally she managed to pop the black monstrosities through slits running down the back of the dress hastily made for her, and zipped it up as far as she could herself. "I'm going nowhere with you," she replied curtly, adjusting the fabric and closing her eyes.

She was dead if she stayed and someone saw the wings; she was dead if she ran away with the dragon and someone saw them. It didn't matter. All of Elanaar knew and feared the black wings. There would be absolutely no safe spot for them, _ever_.

"I said, I could help!"

"You have no idea if you can help or not! That Drogen place might not even exist, you said so yourself!" she snapped and then turned from him, chanting in a whispered voice. She'd hide the wings for as long as she could, and hope that if he gave up and went far away, his soul would follow.

Immediately after that thought ended, another entered her consciousness, bringing the familiar tickle of laughter with it. How ignorant you are, it mocked.

Her chant ended on a sharp note, and a small blue ice sprite appeared in one of her outstretched hands. Ryu stared at it, remembering the one that flitted in front of him in the ruins. Unlike that one, which resembled nothing but a spark of bright light, this sprite had the body of a full grown woman, only she was palm sized. She had light blueish skin that shimmered with a layer of frost dusted over it. Sheer fabric hugged her full figured form, and a necklace made up of what looked like hundreds of thin gold chains spilled down her front. Long, wavy silver hair cascaded down her bare shoulders and when she spoke to Nina, snow filled mist poured out of her blue tinted lips. "Yes, master?" it asked softly in old Wyndian with a voice like a tiny tinkling bell.

"Fai'en...what're you...?"

Nina whispered something to the sprite and it nodded at her, spreading wings like two paper thin sheets of ice. She flapped them vigorously, and the all of the heat from the room was purged. Snowflakes fluttered past Ryu while he watched the black feathers on the princess' back become completely encased in ice. "You're not serious about that...are you?"

The sprite's spell completed, and the snow-woman dissolved into mist in the princess' palm. Nina clenched that hand and turned back at him, crystallized wings glittering brightly in the sunlight. "Yes, I'm serious! This will do until you're gone and everything goes back to normal!"

"How many times must I tell you, it _will not go away _like that! Especially now that you've gone and stupidly _bound_ part of yourself to the Ladon-forsaken Kai-"

"_Shut up!_" Nina hissed acidly, covering her ears. "I don't want to hear about your black magic! _Nothing _good has come out of meeting you! I never want to see you again! Get away from me! Go far _far_ away!"

"You're only wasting time! This argument accomplishes nothing!"

A key slid into the other side of the doorknob and they both heard the _click _of it unlocking. Ryu bared his teeth at Nina and melted into the shadows, his piercing yellow glare somehow lingering a second longer than his body as if for effect. Nina glowered back in his general direction.

If things went downhill, she would end it, simple as that. If it meant sacrificing the dragon, so be it. He probably wasn't supposed to exist in this world anyhow, she thought, all of this bending her morals terrifyingly close to their breaking points.

Surprisingly, his soul had no smart-ass comment for those thoughts.

That's right, she thought, the maddening anxiety growing within her rolling an almost sinister grin from one cheek to the next. It was afraid to speak because it knew _she _ruled its fate. His cursed soul would disappear right along with hers if she actually went through with it.

Lissa burst into the room along with two soldiers and Nina clasped her hands behind her in – what she hoped was – a dainty looking pose, concentrating painfully hard on keeping the frost thick on her feathers. "I'm s-s-sorry I worried you," she stammered, partially from the cold as well as fear, heartbeat loud in her ears.

The blonde handmaiden wiped at her brow, blue eyes warily searching the room. "Whew! I'm so glad...I thought I heard you yelling at someone!" she sighed with relief at finding nothing.

"Oh no, everything is f-f-fine." Nina felt an invisible force near her and she kicked her foot back. It hit nothing, disappointing her.

"Well...I was coming to see if you were awake anyways," Lissa said, "Prince Vahn said that if you were, he wanted to proceed with the wedding early." She crossed her arms, "Is it me? Or is it _cold _in here?"

Nina's stomach tightened. Married this early in the morning? He wanted her _that _bad? She struggled to keep her mind away from his attack on her last night, and onto cold things: snow, ice, ...Vahn's bitter stare hovering above her... She shook her head hard and felt a tiny bit of frost fall from one of her bottom clumps of feathers. Heart leaping to her throat, her eyes darted to Lissa. The blonde didn't seem to notice. "So...I'm going to go get your veil, and tell Vahn you're ready, alright?" she said, forgetting the cold and bouncing cheerfully. "Oh I'm _so _excited for him to see you in your dress!" Nina started to protest, but her hyper assistant and the soldiers were out of the room before she could utter a word.

Ryu spat something harsh in his language, and appeared again before the Wyndian when the door shut, eyes blazing. "Stop this nonsense! We had an agreement last night!"

"The Black Wings change everything," Nina sighed, touching her fingers to her forehead, wincing from a growing headache. She was so very tired.

"Why?"

"You've...never heard of the curse of the black wings?" she heard her voice ask him with little emotion. The dragon shook his head sharply, irritated at the further delay. "It's something that...well, I thought it was something everyone knew. After all, it's a prophecy having to do with the end of the world."

"I don't remember there being such a thing in my era."

His era? She thought vaguely, then promptly forgot about it. "Around five hundred years ago, the princess of Wyndia," (Ryu's smoldering look darkened even more) " had a vision of an onyx winged royal blooded Wyndian destroying the world along with a..." she slowly turned her head toward him, some of her mind's mechanics coming to a screeching halt. Her eyes widened when the gears gradually began to turn the correct way. "Dear Goddess, _you_ are the 'monster guarding it that's as black as night'..." She sunk to the floor again, bringing trembling hands in front of a blanched face. "I-It really _is _true, I-I'm the...Angel of Death..." Her shaking fingers snaked into her messy, wavy blonde mane. "This...This is supposed to be _Isabella's _problem, not mine!" she moaned, rivers flowing from her eyes. "_She's_ supposed to be the one worried about execution, _she's _the one-"

"Execution?"

The Wyndian's sobbing body convulsed with hiccups when she tried to speak again. "B-black wings...p-public execution..." she gasped for breath, clutching at her heaving chest. This was too big for her to understand; too big for her to handle!

"The second princess of Wyndia ordering the execution of the one possessed by _my_ soul...," Ryu snarled. "I have a feeling I know what's going on now." Nina looked up at him, hair stuck to her tear soaked cheeks. "We have to get out of here, Fai'en. I don't have time to explain things now; you've just got to trust me." He held out a bandaged hand to her and she didn't move. "Come, I'll make sure no one sees you."

She fought to gain composure of herself, staring hard into the dragon's odd colored eyes, attempting to sort out the feelings she knew his soul was feeding her. She suddenly remembered the boy version of him, grasping onto her, begging for her help, looking like she probably did right now to him. It almost made her angry, the feeling of certainty forcing itself on her, insuring without a doubt, this man was perfectly capable of protecting her from a situation as hopeless as this, and it was ludicrous to question it. Reluctantly, she reached for his rough, calloused fingers and allowed him to help her up.

"I'm only doing this because for some reason, I c-can't convince myself otherwise," she sniffled, tying her hair back into a loose knot.

"Good, because the thought of a honeymoon with that idiot didn't sound very appealing to me today," muttered the dragon, and he knelt down in front of her. "Get on my back."

The princess hesitated. Touching his hand just a moment ago didn't bother her, but what would him carrying her do? In the background, she felt the invisible struggle of their souls tugging at each other, confused as to where they actually belonged.

"Don't think about it," he said like the thoughts were written on her face. "Besides, don't you have your disguise to concentrate on?"

He was right. Nina nodded and climbed onto his back after hiking her clingy dress up to free her legs, trying hard to think of only frosty things. The layer of ice on her feathers reinforced with a painstakingly detailed thought of the inside of a freezer, and she felt him shiver briefly beneath her. "I'm s-s-sorry," she chattered.

"It can't be helped," he reached up and pulled her arms tighter around his neck. "Hold on tight...and yes, I really am that fast." Her face went into his hair and she was glad it didn't smell as dirty as it looked. "Ready?" he asked holding her legs firmly against him. Before she could reply, he dashed forward and leaped clean out of the tall tower window.

The door to the bedroom flew open moments after his foot left the ground.

"Princess Nina! I'm back with your veil and I really want to see it on you with...your...dress?" Lissa bounded into the princess' room and stopped suddenly, staring incredulously at the now unoccupied space. "Princess?" She walked over and peered out of the open window. A few soldiers stationed below it waved and whistled up to her. "Strange, I _know _I just heard her voice!" she pulled her head back in, putting her hands on her hips. Soldiers would have seen her if she flew away...right? "How does a princess...disappear?" the blonde asked herself, scratching her head and staring out of the window into the clear blue sky.

* * *

Nina held onto Ryu's neck for dear life as they fell, her screaming thankfully muffled by his hair and the sounds of two soldiers sparring below them. "Are you _crazy_? They'll _see _us!"

"Close your mouth or you'll bite through your tongue!" she heard him hiss and she complied.

The dragon landed hard on his feet, and Nina would have never believed there was a thing alive that had legs strong enough to take that much force if she didn't see it for herself. The ground beneath him cracked on impact, and he was off again in less than a second, sprinting expertly through the crowds of soldiers moving about, like taking a ten story tall fall such as that was nothing out of the ordinary. Nina stared out at the soldiers flashing by, wondering why they weren't alerted to them.

"They can't see us within the shadow realm," said Ryu back to her, and she looked down, noticing every time his feet touched the ground, they were in a shadow. The air around them was also a little thicker and had a hazy deep purplish tint over it, she now saw.

Whether it was the cover of a building or a helmet on the ground, he apparently could use any and every shadow to become completely invisible. She tightened her arms even more around his tense neck, marveling at his immaculate maneuvering through this hazy, strange dimension. This was how he viewed the world when he 'melded into the shadows'? "Amazing..."

"Heh, let's hope it lasts long enough."

* * *

"Indeed, my dear, how _does _a princess disappear, hmm?" asked Vahn to a jittery Lissa, sitting at his desk in his office, already dressed for the ceremony in another white suit with a royal blue Ludian silk scarf tied around his neck, drumming his fingers impatiently on the desktop. "There were guards in the hallway as well as ones outside of her window, so how?" Nichol stood near, arms crossed.

"That's what's odd, they didn't see _anything _come out the room," she said nervously, wishing she hadn't been the one to find out the Wyndian girl was missing. Always so soft spoken, gorgeous Prince Vahn was looking scarily like a gasket ready to blow. "Some soldiers sparring outside said they saw a strange crack or something appear on the ground but nothing els-"

The prince hit the desk hard with his fist. Lissa flinched. "This is precisely why I sent you so early to fetch her! Damnit, she could be anywhere by now!"

"But, your majesty, if she didn't fly, she couldn't have gotten far...!"

Vahn stood sharply, causing the girl to shrink back. "I'm going out to look for her myself. I want soldiers in every corner of the city and the gates locked."

"The _city_ gates, locked?" Lissa blinked. "What will you tell the civilians?"

"Do they need a reason from me? I'm the prince."

"Well...people might get angry if they don't know a reason why they can't leave their own city..."

"Fine! Tell them there's a...a murderer on the loose for all I care, just _do not _let it be known that my bride is trying to escape!"

"A _murderer_?"

"Stop asking questions and get going with those orders to the soldiers!" he barked viciously at her.

She quickly curtsied and scurried out of the room, a squeal-like, "Yes, your majesty!" echoing down the hallway after her.

The prince walked over to his window and angrily pulled the curtain back, peering at the castle rooftops with narrowing eyes. That princess had to be taught how to behave. He couldn't have her running around thinking she had any sort of privilege like _free will_. She was a Wyndian, a royal member of the most beautiful race in existence. Someone like him _had _to marry a woman of that caliber; he knew that from the first time he saw her as a child.

If it got out she was trying to get out of marrying _him, _Prince Jonathan Vahn Ludias – voted most handsome bachelor in the Eastern Kingdoms by women of all different races in the world newspaper– he would be humiliated! And if she opened her mouth to anyone about last night and his premarital busy hands... He grit his teeth. It would toss his reputation straight into the cesspool.

"Vahn, which side of the castle would you like me to search first?" asked Nichol behind him, twisting the glowing ring on his finger.

"I'll take the north side. It's closer to the exit. Her room was located near the soldier's barracks so she could possibly be hiding out in that area..." Vahn's voice trailed off when his eye caught something glittery gliding across the rooftops in the distance.

"...would you like me to take the barracks, sire?"

The eye widened when it also caught a mop of bouncing honey hair.

"Sire?"

"Call off the soldiers and tell everyone to continue setting up for the wedding. I want everything ready as soon as possible, Nichol." said Vahn, mouth curling into a smile. "I've found our lost bird."

* * *

"This is ridiculous, you know that, right? Utterly _ridiculous_."

"Enlighten me with a better solution."

"Well...I, uh..."

"As expected."

The dragon and the princess streaked down castle Ludia's rooftops, Ryu's form still enveloped in the shadows and Nina's now in plain sight, leaning as low as she could against his back. Ryu could handle hiding himself for long periods of time no problem, but keeping Nina in the shadow realm with him exhausted him too much. At least this way - he told her - if they got caught, they would only find her, leaving him free for a rescue later; a foolproof plan he assured. The princess was currently more worried about tucking her dress in between her legs so no one in front of them would get a free look at her undergarments.

"The south gates, we're almost there!" she heard him say while she was busy pushing the fabric under her, and she looked up excitedly at the exit. There it was, freedom! The building's edge was getting closer, closer. Nina's hands tightened on Ryu's cloak collar and she gave up on her dress. She was going to get out! She didn't have to marry the prince! Her heartbeat quickened with every graceful step the dragon took.

Just a few more strides and she would be free-

Ryu suddenly slid to a halt mere feet from the edge, greaves kicking up bits of shingles, and stood up straight, letting go of Nina's legs and forcing her off of his back. "What the-" she stopped when she felt an invisible finger on her lips and a firm hand steady her.

"He's coming. His scent assaults my nostrils from here," Ryu's voice whispered near her ear, stopping Nina's heart. The air in front of them shimmered, magical winds kicked up glittering dust that swirled up from the shingles to form the shape of a man. Nina began viciously trembling as she too caught a whiff of that horrendous familiar stench.

"Princess, since when did I give you permission to leave your room?" came the prince's flamboyant voice from within the storm.

Nina clenched her fists; his arrogant tone wrenched terrible memories free of the places she had desperately tried to hide them. "I didn't know I was to ask," she replied coldly through her teeth.

Conjured winds blew the dust away to reveal Vahn standing there, arms crossed, blonde hair whipping back. "Where do you think you're going, anyway?"

"For a walk," she spat.

"Odd place for a walk, love."

"Maybe I _like_ walking on rooftops, there's a lot you don't know about me."

"Oh, we'll be getting to know each other plenty after the wedding, _trust _me," he purred, winking and running his tongue over his lips slowly. "I want so much more than the teasing I received last night."

"You're _unforgivable_, you know that? A poor excuse for a man!" Nina shrieked at him. His smile faded. "You're trying to ruin my life because of a stupid..." she shuddered away more memories. "o-obsession of yours...and you don't even care what I think!" She blinked away tears. "It doesn't bother you that I don't love you? How can you force someone to marry you, you _know _doesn't love you?"

Vahn rolled his eyes and tapped his foot against the rooftop irritably. "I _really_ wish your father would have told me you were this stubborn," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I would have had those people enchant my entire castle."

"Influential magic is not love, it's a lie!"

Vahn's perfect eyebrows raised. "So you knew? That's...actually, that's incredibly impressive." His mischievous smile returned. "Now I am even more intrigued by you."

Her words were going into one ear and right out of the other. "You're not listening to me!" she cried.

"How can I," he asked, looking over her and smacking his lips, "with you standing in front of me in such a heavenly garment? I can't help wondering what you're going to look like when I peel it off of your squirming little body."

Nina scowled, scarlet faced. "You basta-"

Trumpets suddenly sounded from the castle gates, taking Vahn's attention. "I see Nichol is efficient as ever. It looks like the ceremony is coming underway nicely. We should be getting down there before-"

Down below them, three soldiers carrying a table with two large, four tier cakes on them, all tripped over bump on the ground and dropped their share of the load all over the cobblestone castle walkways. Cake went everywhere, and Vahn exploded obscenities at them.

"Now's our chance, Fai'en!" Nina suddenly heard Ryu hiss during the racket. He hooked an invisible arm around her waist.

The moment she started to turn, a white dart of magical light zipped past her face, singing off a few of her bang's flyaway strands. She felt Ryu's arm jerk away from her, and the pungent smell of burnt hair and possibly flesh filled her sinuses when she whirled around to see Vahn standing with his finger pointing in her direction, the tip of it blackened and a thin wisp of smoke spiraling into the air from it. "Did I almost hit you? Oh, I'm _so _sorry. I thought I saw something strange in your shadow."

Nina's throat tightened. Could he see Ryu?

The prince yelled back for the soldiers to 'Get more cake or be executed' and then shrugged back at Nina, hands returning to his sides as the men scrambled back into the castle. "Must have been my imagination, huh?" he said, eyes focusing behind her momentarily. She stretched her arms slightly back and tried to reach for the invisible dragon. She felt nothing and nothing grabbed her back. Did he get hit?

"By the way, what reason would you have, to put an ice enchantment on your wings, love?"

She sucked in her breath, mind drawing a complete, fearful blank. Vahn was a pervert and an arrogant prick, but she forgot the most important thing about him: he was a sorcerer, and a very powerful one at that_._ Of _course _he could sense something like an ice enchantment, even if it was partially conjured by a sprite. "I-I-well..."

"It makes your wings look absolutely gorgeous in this sunlight, so I'm not complaining...I'm just wondering why?"

With Ryu missing, she had to proceed with Plan B until he was able to save her (if he was alright), something she had hoped and prayed to the Goddess the entire time they were running, _wouldn't _happen. "I..." her brain forced her mouth to say the appropriate things, ignoring her heart's desire to scream things like 'molester!' and 'rapist!' at him. "I wanted to make them beautiful for our w-wedding," she mumbled after taking a deep breath. She had no other choice but to go along with it, what chance did she have against him alone?

Plenty, her mind said, flashing her a picture of Vahn's mangled body, mutilated from the ravens' assault in her dream. She forced it away with all of her might. No, she wouldn't ask for help from that _thing _again. There was no telling what he would take from her next for nothing. The promised 'power' she was supposed to have already was nowhere to be found.

Vahn's smile widened. "Why, how _thoughtful_ of you, my dear!" he gushed, walking forward. "Just when I think you're going to be a problem, you go and surprise me with something like this... You're such a _good _girl." Nina bit down on her trembling lower lip when he neared, holding her hand slightly behind her and curling her fingers in a desperate 'please grab my hand and tell me you're still here' motion. ...Or at least she hoped the dragon would translate it into such. Again, she got no answer from him.

Vahn took her other hand into his. "The ceremony is the boring part of getting married," he murmured, kissing it. "let's hurry and get it over with so we can proceed to the _real _celebration." He ran his tongue lightly over her skin before her disgusted face.

That was it. She couldn't go through with it, Plan B was rubbish. How long was she going to have to wait around for Ryu to save her? If he was too late, then this piece of work would have plenty of time to... She shook her head, hard. "I've changed my mind, I don't want to marry you!" she cried, eyes flicking around at tiny specks of golden glitter now appearing in the air and jerking her hand away from him.

"It's too late," he sneered, grasping her forearm firmly. "Besides," he wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her close to him, touching the tip of his nose to hers. "I told you before, you don't have a choice." Magical winds picked up, and more glittering particles danced about. Nina watched, eyes wide, the landscape behind Vahn get taken over by those particles, and break apart until nothing but a cold, windy blackness was around her.

* * *

"Gods_damn,_"Ryu groaned, losing his concentration and coming into view, clutching his shoulder and rolling off of the rooftop to a ledge just below it. His body thudded onto the shingles in a billowing cloud of dust. The bastard sorcerer's spell caught the top of his arm and tore a good sized gash in it. He reached down and ripped off part of the bottom of his cloak to bandage the wound, vowing that if he actually managed to get the Wyndian girl out of this, he was going to demand she teach him modern common tongue so he knew what the hell was going on.

"_...may proceed with the union of Jonathan Vahn Ludias and Nina Valentina Wynlan_ _now that both parties have arrived..." _

Ryu got onto his knees, ears pricking at the magically enhanced voice floating over from outside of the gates followed by the roar of an enormous crowd afterward. Damn, did he really take her right to the altar? he thought, recognizing their names out of all of the gibberish. He forced his mind away from immense pain and called upon the shadows of the shingles to help hide him once more. Blood trickled off of his lip and an invisible grip tightened on his right forearm. Ryu narrowed his eyes into the familiar purple haze pouring over his vision, legs locking in preparation to spring from the rooftop.

"And what do we have here?" A voice called from behind him.

Ryu ignored it and proceeded to disappear, but whoever it was, was faster. A now familiar _zip _sound streaked past the dragon's ears, and he barely had enough time to pull his hand away before it was zapped with the same white magical dart the prince hit his arm with earlier. Shingles blew apart in its place.

The shadows lifted and Ryu leaped back from shrapnel, wiping blood from his lips. The prince's spectacled right hand man stood before him, blue robes falling back into place from being rustled by makeshift winds. "Are you an assassin from Shyde? Vahn gives your country a lot of revenue you know, I don't think it would be wise to pursue him any longer."

Ryu growled at him, not understanding his words, but knowing the situation was bad nonetheless. Nichol pushed his glasses closer to his face, using a hand that had a ring emitting a strange pulsing glow. His eyes went to the intruder's arm, saw dark crimson scales peek out from underneath a bloodstained cloth, and gleam at him in the sunlight. "Scales? What in Goddess' name...?" He murmured in astonishment.

The dragon started to stand, and Nichol didn't hesitate to shoot him through the shoulder with another impossibly fast dart. Blood splattered before Ryu's eyes almost before he heard the _zip_, and he fell backwards against the roof hard, screaming and writhing from the white hot burning pouring over his shoulder. The smell of his own flesh cooking turned his stomach.

"Answer me, trespasser!" the human mage was barking more nonsense.

Ryu struggled to pull himself up from hot, sun baked shingles, grasping at his shoulder with a crimson painted hand, grimacing at the sizzling sounds in his wound. This was bad. He wasn't strong enough to fight without his soul at least not right now, he realized wretchedly, watching the mage's lips move again in a quiet chant. His eyes darted over the edge of the rooftop, to a stand with heaps of apples and oranges on it.

Nichol's ring flashed and another dart came at the dragon, but this time, Ryu was ready. He dropped down and tumbled off of the rooftop. Frantically, he pulled in the shadows of the soldiers that heard his screams and had come to see what was going on, and vanished from all sight. Nichol watched, blue eyes narrowing, the fruit stand below break with the impact of a large unseen object. Soldiers scrambled and pointed at the 'possessed' fruit being kicked about in all directions. Nichol took his glasses off and used the sleeve of his robe to wipe them. Whatever it was, was attempting to cover it tracks.

This wedding just got a lot more interesting, the adviser thought cheerfully, his form falling away into a cloud of dust.

* * *

The winds and dust fell away, and the front of castle Ludia literally sprang in front of Nina's vision. Her wide, frightened eyes suddenly took in thousands of humans sitting in the long, grassy areas on either side of the rosebush lined driveway in black chairs, all staring at her glistening white wings in open-mouthed awe. Her makeup from yesterday was all over her face, streaked and destroyed by her tears. Her hair was a frizzy, wavy mess; sticking out from her makeshift bun in wild scraggly strands, but it didn't seem to matter to anyone. This was probably the first time most of them had ever seen a Wyndian.

Ludia's cleric, Father Jameson, raised his hands and opened a large book on a dark wooden podium in front of his tall frail form. "It is a joyous occasion that we witness the union of these two souls in holy matrimony...under the blessing of the Goddess' love... " his voice magically boomed to the crowd.

Nina realized, legs becoming lead heavy, that he has warped them straight to the altar.

Vahn, ignoring etiquette completely, leaned in close during the cleric's prayers to the Goddess, and started whispering into her ear. She bit her bottom lip hard and struggled to hold onto the ice spell that was now slowly slipping through her fingers, as he went through, step by terrifying step, what he was going to do with her after the ceremony.

"Now do you, Jonathan, take the lovely Nina to be your wedded wife, to have and to hold: in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, in hardship and in ease, to cherish and love, until death do you part?"

"I do," Vahn said, pulling back to lean his forehead against Nina's. The princess trembled beneath his hands, eyes darting around like a scared rabbit. Where was Ryu? Dear Goddess where the _hell _was Ryu?

"And do you, Nina, take his majesty Vahn to be your wedded husband, to have and to hold: in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, in hardship and in ease, to cherish and love, until death do you part?"

"I don-"

"You _do_? Oh how _wonderful_!" Vahn exclaimed, pulling her face into his neck fiercely, catching her before she could humiliate him in front of his people.

"With the Goddess' blessing I hereby declare you husband and wife!" Father Jameson's voice rang out.

Ryu wasn't coming. He really wasn't coming.

"You may now kiss the bride."

Vahn lifted her chin up. "With pleasure," he locked his lips firmly onto hers. The crowd both cheered and booed, hats and confetti flew through the air. Hundreds of doves were released in front of the platform and a string quartet began to play elegant music.

Everything was a blur to Nina. The cheers, the music...the doves all flapping their beautiful white wings into the air, taunting her with their purity... Why should she care anymore? She thought darkly, keeping her lips tight. Ryu didn't rescue her, she was married to the prince...now she _really _couldn't run away without a war starting. Vahn forced his tongue into her mouth and she pushed a maddening urge to bite it off, back. What did she get these black wings for anyway? She had no power to stand up for herself like that demon had promised, and yet she was being forced to carry the burden of a five hundred year old curse on her back regardless?

It was at the end of that thought, she felt Vahn's hand slide around and grasp her rear, and her concentration on the ice enchantment completely shattered.

The spell dissipated into mist in an instant, despite her maddeningly desperate mental pleas for it to stay, and the Angel of Death's wings unveiled themselves before all of Ludia.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

_You and That Stubborn Half-Breed Better Not Get Us All Killed_

A silence heavier than death blanketed the sea of humans.

Vahn's lips slowly left Nina's, his confused, pale eyes scanned over the silent masses. He saw every soul staring back at them with their faces contorted into looks of absolute horror. "What's all this? Why did my cheering stop-"

It was then he noticed the mass of ebon feathers now flowing from his new wife's back. He dropped his hold on her, as if her skin had suddenly burned him, and scrambled backwards into an equally terrified group of huddled handmaidens, tripping over his own feet in the process. "Oh my god, the B-b-black Wings!" he sputtered, face mirroring his subjects'.

"_Dear Goddess, the prophecy is true...it's really true!"_

"_The Black Wings!"_

"_We're doomed! We're all doomed!"_

It began an undertone of cautious whispers, but the longer Nina stood atop the platform, paralyzed in fear, staring out at the Ludians with the cursed wings looming menacingly behind her like two dark beasts poised for attack, those whispers soon escalated into screams of terror and rage. Chaos broke in seconds. The back of the crowd fell over themselves in shrieking panic to get as far away from her as they could. Overzealous ones rushed through the streams of people to get to the base of the platform, pushed up against a wall of soldiers forming to hold them back, shaking their fists at the "evil witch" in anger, yelling out obscenities and that they weren't ready to die yet. A woman from the very front row - one of Vahn's relatives – picked up her handbag and hurled it over the soldiers. It clipped Nina's shoulder and flew open, spilling its contents all over the platform. She still didn't dare move an inch.

"_Curse the Wyndians for sending us this plague!"_

"_You can't trust those pigeons, I always said that!"_

"_Ludia's queen has always been human! This is why the curse is upon us!"_

"_Kill her! Kill her now!"_

"_Kill her, Prince Vahn! Kill her before she kills us!"_

Self hatred gnashed at Nina's insides, biting harder than the humans' harsh words ever could. More of the crowd's belongings - as well as rocks and anything else they could find on the ground - soared through the air, whizzed dangerously past her head. How dare she wish a thing like this on her sweet, wonderful little sister, she thought bitterly, wincing when a small dagger nicked the side of her arm and buried itself deep into the podium Jameson was -now running from- behind her. Nina glanced down at the blood seeping from the wound in a haze, the crowd's roars thundering in her ears, hoping the next sharp object would pierce her selfish heart.

It was over.

Vahn quickly gathered himself together, remembering within his awe of the Angel of Death standing before him, that he was the prince and must regain control of his people. "Citizens of Ludia, listen to me!" he bellowed out. A piece of fruit bounced off of the magical shield he had covering his body, its presence becoming known only from the shimmering ripples the impact caused. He stepped in front of Nina after throwing her another quick, fearful glance. "As your prince, I command all of you to cease this immediately!" he motioned for more soldiers to help regulate the riot, and also, to subdue Nina.

Two who felt they were the unluckiest men in the entire world, each took hold of the Wyndian's arms, trembling fearfully, thinking: they were really going to _arrest_ the fated destroyer of the planet? To their unexpected relief, she didn't resist; she merely sagged against their grip, eyes glazed and staring into the unknown.

"It's the Black Wings! We have to kill her _now_! She will purge the world of all its light, the prophecy says so!" a large man yelled from the front of the crowd, pushing forward against the line of soldiers to hurl a rock at the back of Nina's head. "The only way to stop it is to kill her!" The man smiled when the rock connected, watched with glee the girl pitch forward into another soldier's arms.

Vahn touched his lips with a finger. "The prophecy also says it has to be a public execution in Wyndia!" he cried in an amplified voice. He brought his other hand up and a hazy blue shield of shimmering energy spread out in front of Nina just in time to stop another, considerably larger, rock from striking her. Various other sharp things bounced off of it soon after. "Get her _out _of here!" he hissed, turning to the soldiers holding Nina. His eyes went to the back of her head, where he could see a dark stain clearly spreading throughout her hair and he cursed himself for his hesitation in putting up the shield. It wouldn't bode well with the big guys to have her die here. "Wrap her head up!" he continued desperately into the soldiers' panicked faces. "She can't die before she gets back to Wyndia!"

"It's public! We're all here...kill her now!" Nina heard the same man scream through the agonizing pain flooding over her skull. It sounded like he was miles away, but she knew he was right there. The soldiers with her, held handkerchiefs onto her head in an attempt to stop the bleeding. There was an echoing chorus of agreement from the enraged audience. Her limbs tingled with numbness.

"No, this execution is to be done by _Wyndia_, as their princess once commanded years ago, in front of every major world leader!"

There were more boos and screams followed by more things raining against the prince's magical shield, and Nina felt it all fade away; Vahn's pleading voice also becoming lost in the sudden splotchy blackness mercilessly wiping away her consciousness.

* * *

Ryu laid flat on his stomach against a nearby rooftop overlooking the festivities, grinding his sharp teeth together hard, fighting to stay invisible with the now deep cut on the back of his head exploding with pain. He watched soldiers take away Nina through squinted eyes, and the crowd go wild; fleeing or fighting against the other soldiers barricading them in to maybe get a chance at her as well. The prince yelled at his people, in an attempt to calm them down it seemed, but when it did nothing to pacify the mob, he threw more soldiers into the fray and skittered after Nina into the castle.

The dragon winced as another stab of pain – this time from his shoulder – shot through him. The purple haze in front of his vision began to clear, he knew it was only a matter of time until he completely lost his hold on the shadow realm. Could things have gone any worse? he thought angrily, ignoring the warm blood trickling down his head matting his long hair.

His vision flickered black for a moment. Nina had passed out.

Thankfully for him, things like sleep and fainting weren't shared by the two, but either happening left him severely drained. He felt his body relax significantly, and the purple haze in front of his vision almost disappeared. "_Damnit_...," he cursed as loudly as he dared. No matter what, he had to stay hidden. With dimmed senses like this, there was no way he would be able to find that four-eyed mage before he used his warp magic to pop out of hiding and...

Something clicked in the dragon's throbbing head.

_Warp magic._

Ryu swore a curse in his language that would have curled a listener's hair had they understood him, and struggled with partially deadened limbs to get clumsily to his knees. He had to get to Nina. If the prince happened to decide to warp her straight to Wyndia (he had caught 'Nina' and 'Wyndia' from the prince's enchanted voice floating over the castle grounds) his soul would be too far from his body, resulting in...

His weak knees gave away and his chin smacked hard against the rooftop, jarring even more pain from the wound on the back of his head. Ryu clutched at the hot shingles, fingers crunching dents into them.

He didn't want to do it, but he had no other choice...

**You called, Half-breed?**

He flinched. He always flinched when that awful grinding voice penetrated his thoughts.

His fingers twitched. If he was trembling, he would never admit it to anyone.

_Yes_, he struggled to think through the agony. _I..._

Damnit, he _really _didn't want to resort to this!

**How amusing**, the entity inside of him jeered. Ryu could almost picture its mockery of a self image of him grinning manically. **You lie here in such a pitiful state...yet your stubborn pride refuses to let you even **_**think**_ **you need my help.**

More pain shot through Ryu's aching body as his battle with his own consciousness flickered his vision on and off. _If I don't save her...we're all dead. You know that, right?_

**I wonder if you can handle it?**

A wave of conjured endorphins calmed the pain and sobered the dragon some. He took a moment to relish his brief peace before thinking again. _I have to._

**Hmm...will it be another Camlon? **The voice further mused, **I hope it turns out that way. Mindless killing is **_**much**_ **more interesting than all of this cowardly sneaking you're doing.**

Ryu suppressed the blood splattered memories that place's name dredged up from the sands of his mind. _I do not wish for any confrontation_, he thought back angrily. _Only a firm hold on the shadows and energy back into my limbs...Nothing more!_

The demon sighed loudly, lead dragging on granite.

**As you wish.**

Ryu's hands clutched the edge of the rooftop hard as the ancient power bestowed to him by Ladon suddenly surged into his veins. It seeped into his tired muscles, revived them almost instantaneously. The haze of stealth reinforced around him, once again giving him the violet world he was used to. The aches and pains all over his body melted away. He crouched low against the hot shingles and locked powerful legs to spring lithely to a higher rooftop adjacent to the one he was on.

His quick eyes caught a flash of red from his hands upon landing, and he lifted them in front of his face to see his fingers curling forward, the nails on them becoming long, crimson, and claw-like. He felt the muscles in his torso and arms tighten, and his shoulder blades quiver with the effort of holding in the bones of wings he knew desperately wanted to be set free. The dragon squeezed his eyes closed and shook his head, laughing darkly to himself.

Five hundred years really _had_ weakened him.

**I thought you said you could handle it? Such a small portion of your inheritance and I already ****feel your humanity thinning...**

The last thing he wanted to do was transform too much. Then it really _would_ be Camlon all over again.

Ryu snarled and clenched his fist, digging the nails hard into his palm until he drew blood. _Do not mock me! I said I could, and I will! _His fangs lengthened with defiance as he spoke.

**As you say.**

Spitting another draconian obscenity, Ryu gathered hold of what new-found energy he could, and forced it towards his nose. Smells suddenly rammed into him from all sides, knocking his senses into complete disarray. The sweat of soldiers, the fruit in stands below, the dirt on the ground, the perfumes of all the females formerly sitting in the wedding audience; everything within a mile radius melded together in one overwhelming rush that brought stinging tears to his eyes. He took a dizzying moment to let his senses calm down, and gingerly began sifting through the scents. It wasn't long until he found the lingering stench of the prince's terrible cologne. Nina's flowery Wyndian scent, fragrant with his own draconic metallic twang, was nearby as well; they intertwined, and flowed into the castle.

Ryu's senses locked on and he dropped down from the roof, landing hard against the ground - startling a few wedding party stragglers who didn't understand 'what in Goddess' name' made that crack on the ground that suddenly appeared before them - and bounded after it on all fours, nose against the ground.

* * *

"Th-th-the what? _What_ did you just say?"

"The Black Wings, Your Majesty," Nichol said louder, clearing his throat.

The King of Wyndia, along with his adviser Asheton, and royal guardian Ethan, all stared at the human in disbelief, all crowding around him in a tight circle of white wings in castle Wyndia's otherwise empty throne room. Sunlight, colored by the stained glass goddess mural stretching across the ceiling splashed over them. "Are you certain? Are you quite certain _Nina _has acquired the wings of legend?"

"I'm afraid I am _too_ certain of this fact," Nichol replied gravely, shaking his head. "I have laid eyes on them myself. They are...a horrifying sight."

"I can't believe this..." Ethan caught the king's robed shoulder as he swayed. "All this time I thought it was Isabella this might happen to... Goddess' breath, I've married the Angel of Death off to Ludia...?"

"She should be ready for transport soon. Prince Vahn is taking extra precautions to make sure she is unable to cause us any harm."

"Has she done anything yet?" Ethan asked.

"Not yet...but the wings...well, you will see them for yourselves," Nichol pushed his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose and glanced at the pale faced king. "We must have her executed here as soon as possible...in front of all the major world's leaders. This as proclaimed by your former princess."

"All of the world's major leaders...here...in Wyndia..." whispered the king shakily. "What if something goes wrong? Shyde despises almost everyone, and without our alliance with you..." he swallowed. "The worens...the grassland clans, all of them are neutral! And who knows about the races of the south...no one has had any contact with the southern lands, past the city of the Highlanders, in centuries...the north...those shamanistic barbarian tribes..."

"Regardless, this is a _world _problem-"

"I _know _what it is!" The king growled and then took a deep breath, righting himself and pushing Ethan away. He would not look weak anymore in front of this human. "Alright, we will prepare for her arrival."

"Excellent, I shall report to Prince Vahn immediately," the adviser said, magic ring flashing on his finger. Bits of his body fluttered and began to break away into the colored light before them.

"Oh, royal guardian." Nichol's eyes met Ethan's through the glimmering spectacle of warp magic, "There seems to be a humanoid creature using some sort of dark magic I cannot decipher, showing an odd interest in her. I know nothing of its motives, but I would advise you use caution...It is able to disappear upon will."

The guardian's dark eyes flashed, and he remembered the blue haired man slinking out of the princess' room that faded into nothingness before him. "I see. Thank you, Adviser Talbot," he said coolly.

Nichol vanished completely, and the king dropped to his knees. Ethan was at his side in less than a second. "This is a nightmare..." the king whispered through bloodless lips. "H-how could this have happened?"

Asheton slowly crept forward, spirits and wings alike drooped. "I say...even if she has the black wings...do you _really _think little Nina would want to destroy the world?" he asked meekly through his thick beard.

"At this point what does it really matter?" The king snarled, glaring at him. "All of Ludia saw them. If we don't execute her, the whole world will think we're keeping her as a weapon. Just like they already do about Isabella."

"Then...shall I get the silver key?" Asheton asked with a long sigh, shaking his head sadly.

The king swallowed hard and nodded, a bead of sweat dripping off of the tip of his trembling nose.

* * *

Ryu flattened himself against a dark wall in the Ludian throne room, sidling towards the far end where Prince Vahn was kneeling over Nina's now shackle and chain bound body lying on the floor in front of him, waving his hands over her and chanting strange words. His fingers glowed an eerie green color and dripped equally eerie sparkling drops onto the chains until they themselves started to faintly glow.

Vahn finished his chant, and glanced up to see the backs of the soldiers standing guard at the entrance. His eyes went lovingly back down to Nina. "I really did love you, you know..." He whispered, placing a hand on her pale face, tracing his fingers over colorless cheeks. He sighed, pushing her long bangs back from her bandage covered forehead. "This must be my punishment for attempting to defile one of the Goddess' angels." He leaned in close, bringing his face inches from hers, his long blonde hair pooled on her shoulders. "But how can they blame me? Look at you..." Another one of his hands found its way to a bare part of her one of her legs, and rubbed gently. "Wyndians truly are magnificent creatures..." He murmured, nearing her dress's edge.

Ryu bristled and went to pounce on him, but Nichol's form shimmered into reality between them, thwarting both ludicrous plans. Vahn quickly took his hand from the girl, and turned to his adviser. "Are they ready for her?" he asked, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice.

Nichol took his glasses off and rubbed the lenses with a sleeve. "As much as they'll ever be for the Angel of Death," he said, and the prince shook his head, pointing a finger at the girl and flicking it upwards. Nina's body was lifted by unseen arms of magic, and floated into position beside Nichol, taking a slouched standing pose. The soldiers at the doorway peeked in at the sound of her chains dragging across the floor. "By the way, did you see any sign of that blue haired man?"

Vahn shook his head, trying to remember what Nichol had said about the man before warping to Wyndia. He had been too interested in admiring Nina's wedding dress covered body sprawled out on the floor while the adviser was talking before, he remembered a bit shamefully now, but he decided he didn't care either way. He was Prince Vahn of Ludia. Any confrontation would have been easily won by him, he was sure of it. He got up and walked over to the other side of the floating Wyndian. "No. I was undisturbed." He placed a hand on the top of one of her arms.

Nichol did the same to the other, noting the prince's sorrowful gaze lingering on the girl. "It's a shame things turned out like this," he said, his own eyes passing over her serene, sleeping face.

"Yes. It is."

Nichol's ring flashed while the prince muttered a chant. Ryu said a prayer to Ladon, and latched onto her wings as they all dissipated into magical dust.

* * *

Again the blackness, again the feeling of nothingness spreading out as far as she could sense, yet pressing and compacting her into that same amount of space at the same time with crushing intensity. The darkness was so thick in front of her, she couldn't tell whether her eyes were open or not. It was heavy, constricting, like an invisible film covering her nose and mouth. Panic suddenly came in waves. She couldn't breathe! Her slender hands clutched at her throat, vainly searched for a place to get a grip on the anxiety building in every limb; the blood rushing to her muscles in preparation for a terror she suddenly felt..._all _around her. She threw her head from side to side, peering vainly out into the nothingness. A horrific feeling crawled over her, a stinging cold mist that left her skin mysteriously dry and prickling with goosebumps in its wake.

She was dead, she concluded after an odd sensation like that. A human must have killed her at the wedding. Her soul was probably descending into some kind of horrible hell right now on the charge of being the Raven Princess...

**On the contrary, my dear, you are very much alive.**

Automatically Nina's hands flew to her ears, though she knew it was a pointless endeavor when dealing with _him._ Her lips formed a reply the velvet darkness savagely snatched away.

**Come. We must speak, Keeper.**

Nina found herself sitting atop a large rock, staring down at what her mind told her confused eyes was the ocean. Breezes, pungent in salt and fish, whipped at the silky fabric of the light blue sundress she was now wearing, while rays from the sun uninhibited by clouds warmed her skin. Waves crashed against blindingly bright shores. She rubbed at her eyes.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

She turned her head to see Ryu sitting beside her, his legs dangling off of the rock, his long navy hair bound low against his bare back. He wore nothing upon his chiseled, bronzed body but tattered beige shorts. Black tattoos of runes she didn't understand scaled up his sides and along his spine. He looked her over as well and smiled widely, showing off his inhuman teeth.

Why was Ryu here? Wasn't the demon talking to her earlier? Where _was _here?

Her gaze went back to the perfect aqua water shining in the light of the sun on this breathtakingly beautiful cloudless day, crashing on shores of perfect, serene white sand littered with a mosaic of colorful glittering shells.

"It's an ocean. You've never seen one before, have you little Fai'en?"

There was no mistaking the aura he was giving off. It _was_ the demon. He was just making himself _look_ like Ryu again, she realized. She gave him a sidelong glance. This one _really _looked like him. "Of course I haven't, Wyndia is landlocked," she said slowly, surprised at how steady she was keeping her voice, "And I _still _haven't. This isn't real. It's a dream _you're _controlling."

Dreams that manipulate the senses, the real Ryu had said. There was no telling what would happen. She half expected blood to start spewing from ridiculous places.

Fake Ryu's shoulders slumped. "How cruel. All I wanted to do was make you feel comfortable enough to want to talk things over with me," he said in a hurt voice. "I took on this body, created this place to awe you, spoke to your ears instead of going straight for your mind...all of this, for you!"

One of Nina's hands rested against the surface of the rock she was sitting on, taking in the warmth it had collected from the sun with terrified curiosity. The only thing he was accomplishing, was making her more scared than ever of him. "You know...I'm not so comfortable around Ryu either..." she muttered.

"Shall I take Ethan's form next time?"

Nina's head snapped up, tiny red splotches appeared on her cheeks, but he interrupted before she could speak. "By the way, those wings are astonishing," he commented, reaching over and laying a hand on the one nearest to him. _"_They_...radiate _power..._"_

She flushed more and pulled herself out of arms length. "I want you to take them back," she snapped angrily, his Ethan comment slipping through the cracks at his inappropriate touch. "You lied and told me you would give me power...but all you've managed to do so far, is give me a death sentence!"

He sighed. "Yes, execution is no laughing matter...however, I did not lie to you. I have, in fact, given you the power to do whatever it is your mortal heart desires."

A line appeared between Nina's brows. "Lies again! I feel nothing!"

"It is not my fault you fail to understand _how_ to harness that power within you, little Fai'en," he leaned forward and tapped her forehead with a finger, grinning.

"What? That's not fair! I've been through enough, you _must _tell me!" she cried, amber eyes wide. "How can I learn how to use it?"

"It's easy," he whispered, placing both hands on her face and locking his now fiery eyes with hers. All you have to do is accept me. Completely."

She gazed into those crimson flames, feeling herself getting drawn into them bit by bit. She realized in a panic this was wrong and tried to tear her eyes away, but any attempt in doing so was halted by his strong hands seemingly resting on her head. It was suddenly becoming harder to think, harder to care.

It would be a better idea to let him to take over, she found herself thinking, her body relaxing in his hands. She was tired of this...so tired of everything that was going on. He could think for her; carry the burden. She didn't need to worry about any of this grown up stuff... After all...she was still just a kid, and kids should do what they're told.

She began to lose all sense of the tropical atmosphere surrounding her: the gentle winds blowing against her sweat drenched skin, the warm rays of the sun on her back, the waves' rhythmic beat on the sand, the strange white birds crying out into the sky... Nothing mattered but him and her desire to be one with him, always...forever...

No! This wasn't right! This wasn't how she felt! She wanted nothing from this demon; nothing from that dragon!

It took every ounce of strength she had, to break his bond over her. There was a _crackle,_ _pop_, and with flash like lightning, the demon's hands snapped back. She fell backwards onto the hard rock, breath coming out in ragged gasps, brain racked with a headache that threatened to split her skull in two.

The ground rumbled, and above her, the sky literally broke.

"Damn, you're waking up," she heard Demon-Ryu's voice spit as the world came crashing down around them.

**You and that stubborn Half-breed better not get us all killed.**

* * *

"They are...truly frightening..."

"It's as if all light bends to their will..."

There were voices. One was a sad, tired sounding woman, the other, a man who's tone pierced her heart in such a manner, Nina panicked for a moment that she might have actually been stabbed. She couldn't understand what they were saying, everything was garbled and muffled in her muddled mind.

"Are you able to help her?"

"_Help_ it? Look. The Goddess has turned her back on this one. There is no hope now."

"So she is destined to become a monster after all..."

Monster? Where was a monster?

Nina was aware of her body lying on a cold, very hard surface, and of the icy hot pain searing her ankles, wrists, neck, wings, and knees where she could feel metal shackles were clasped. She tried to scream, tried to tell whoever the voices were that they burned, to please get them off! But her mouth wouldn't move, her eyes wouldn't open. Her limbs felt submerged in sludge; heavy and contained.

"I wonder if it can hear us speaking?"

"Prince Vahn said the chains devoid _her_ of all energy except the amount needed to sustain life. She may only be sleeping. Be careful you do not touch them, else you will be claimed as well."

The voices were starting to make sense. So the the metal touching her was sucking in her life force. No wonder she was so tired. The thought barely finished before she felt the burning gradually began to numb and she knew she was losing consciousness again.

No, she had to stay awake, had to find out who these voices were...had to find out who...

The woman sighed and there was the sound of shuffling feet. "I have done what you have asked. I healed its physical wounds. Now I do not wish to be in the presence of its dark taint any longer."

"As you wish, Lady Lisele."

"May the Goddess have mercy on your soul, Sir Ethan Von Buren. I am sorry you have to deal with this...atrocity."

Ethan. The name was familiar. So familiar...

Her red headed love's handsome smile flashed into view and her heart felt it would burst with joy. Surely Ethan would save her, he had to! First and foremost he was her friend, right? _Ethan! _Her mind desperately screamed, _Help me, Ethan!_

Only cold, bitter darkness answered her, its unfeeling fingers neatly plucking her grip again from reality and dragging her back down into the abyss of her own mind.

* * *

Lisele folded her hands into the sleeves of her long white robes and shuffled quickly out of the throne room, dark head bowed and her robes swishing loudly about her feet, leaving Ethan alone with the cursed princess. He stood amidst the hazy, multi-colored early afternoon sunlight streaming in through the stained glass, dark eyes wide as he stared at the distorted feathers sprouting from Nina's back. It was mesmerizing, watching the darkness they emanated toy with the sunlight flooding in, taking it and pulling it into them in a demented slow dance.

Or rather, he thought he was alone.

Ryu crouched, hidden in the shadow of the throne room chair behind where Nina's body lay upon the marble floor, gaze drawn as well, to her wings' macabre beauty. For him, however, the spell only lasted a moment. A quick shake of his head and he was back to analyzing the situation.

Girl had chains on her that were glowing with some spell that was draining her of energy; that much, he could feel. Red haired guy with two swords was the only thing guarding her.

Ryu's yellow eyes flickered over the many shackles and chains covering the Wyndian. Even if he did manage to get her out of there before her boyfriend saw, how would he get the chains off of her? In the shadows he hung his head. These people were serious about this prophesy. He figured they perceived her a demon; her having such odd wings like that. They were never going to remove those shackles...why would they?

He wanted to bang his head against the wall beside him and scream every curse he knew at Ladon for his fortune, but he couldn't. Red haired guy was now walking towards the Princess, a pained look crossing his face. Ryu inched back, watching him intently. All he could do was wait.

Ethan laid a hand on her forehead and brushed her bangs back, murmuring something Ryu couldn't understand, shaking his head. He then picked her up, making sure the chains didn't touch any of his flesh, and carried her out of the throne room, Ryu creeping silently along behind.

* * *

"By the Goddess' love, I plead access to the Ch-chamber of Communication, for the c-curse of the Eternal Night has fallen upon us," The King of Wyndia stumbled crudely in old Wyndian to a golden statue of the Goddess located far below the throne room of castle Wyndia, reading from an ancient, almost crumbling sheet of parchment in his hands. Asheton pressed his back against the cold stone walls of the narrow passageway they were in, glancing feverishly about, the torch in his hands casting it's light erratically around gray/green stone with his shaking.

The statue's eyes flared and it, along with the entire section of wall it was connected to, dropped into the floor. Asheton yelped and jumped back, shivering at a strange, strong, frigid wind blowing out of the new hallway. The king shot him a glare. "Come," he snapped, stepping cautiously past, pulling his robes around his body. He motioned for the adviser to bring the torch further.

"Y-yes, Your M-m-majesty."

They walked another hundred or so feet of downward stone stairway before reaching another statue of the Goddess. This one was heavily worn, it's golden beauty faded and marred with time. The king spoke the same words, and the like the first, this one slipped down into the ground as well. Asheton gasped loudly when the torch flickered out with the coming of an even fiercer, colder wind than before. "It's alright, I have it! I g-got it..." he stammered, fat hands fumbling to find the edges of his sleeves in the darkness. He found them, muttered a small chant, and snapped his fingers. A spark erupted from their contact and the torch once again flared to life.

"Give me that!" the king growled, swiping it from the jumpy adviser, who did without question. Now he didn't have to lead!

The king peered past where the wall was and saw no stairs ahead. They had reached their destination, The Chamber of Communication. He took a deep breath and stepped inside.

Five hundred years ago, the second princess of Wyndia, Princess Nyna Valerie Wynlan, made a pact with all of the world's major leaders at the time, that if the Black Wings were ever to appear, no matter what century, no matter what sorts of quarrels happened to befall the nations, Wyndia had a sworn duty to inform them all of of the danger should it arise, and have them personally attend the cursed's beheading. This place was built to do just that.

King Issac Randolph Wynlan VII had never been in this room, and he was sure no one else had since it was built, but it did not look five hundred years old. Torchlight spilled over machinery, the likes of which he had never seen in his lifetime. In the middle of this circular room of baffling technology, jutting out from a slightly raised platform, was a tall cylinder control panel. From it, bundles of wires flowed down the sides through intentions in the metal covered by glass, and connected to screens built along the walls.

"What in the Goddess' name is this technology...?" Asheton voiced the king's thoughts, creeping into the room behind him.

Issac reached into his robes and closed shaking fingers around a large key. He pulled it out and held it into the flickering light of the flame. The Silver Key. A key that hadn't been touched since Nyna had placed it in the oldest safe box in the royal vault. It was what activated this contraption. He stared at it hard for a few moments, wondering what sort of words one used to tell the world leaders the day of darkness had come? Maybe...they would all just know somehow.

"S-sire, are you alright?"

"Yes! Leave me be!" the king hissed and Asheton shrank back. He turned his attention back to the control panel. There, in the middle, was the keyhole. With a still shaking hand, he slid the shining silver metal in, took a deep breath. He had to do it. If he didn't, and word got out (which there was no way it wouldn't), his entire country would be eradicated.

Before any other thoughts could hinder him, he turned it.

Lights erupted from the keyhole, and the entire cylinder came alive in neon blue brilliance. Buttons flashed red, green, and purple all over a massive keyboard, and the king stared at it numbly, hearing the gentle hum of machinery fill the air. How was he supposed to know how to work something ancient like this? He ran a shaking finger over the smooth, keys, wondering if he should push the ones that were flashing more than the others...or should he push the ones _not _flashing? Sweat dripped down his reddening neck. Or maybe that one over there. Too late, his elbow hit one on the bottom.

Purple lights traveled swiftly down a string of wires running from there to the northeast screen on the wall. Issac watched it, brown eyes wide with fear and anticipation. The screen flickered and popped, and for a moment, he was afraid it wasn't going to work. Then static littered the screen. "Yes, yes I _know _of the Black Wings, just get on with everyone else," Prince Vahn of Ludia's voice came crystal clear from a speaker on the wall by the screen. The static dissipated and his sitting form became visible. His arms were crossed and his face was clearly contorted into a glare.

"P-Prince Vahn!" the king stuttered. "I assure you I h-h-had no idea she would be-"

"It doesn't matter!" Vahn rolled his eyes dramatically and sighed, grasping his forehead with his hand. "I won't torture myself thinking about it any longer. Please, _please_, just hurry up with this execution so I can get over her!" A blonde girl with bright red lipstick on full lips, leaned over and handed him a cup of coffee.

"Y-yes..." Issac looked back down at the keyboard. Now with Vahn's eyes on him, he was sweating even more. He'll push a red button; one near Vahn's. Red lights flared and traveled over the wires to the left of him to another screen on the wall.

This time, it was Kishma Bloodclaw, leader of the Woren Clan. She stared at the Wyndian and the human on the other wall through fiery long bangs for a long moment before she spoke. She was a bit older than Issac and a lot more than Vahn, but her emerald eyes held the piercing sharpness of a warrior in its prime. "So it is _that _time, is it?" She spoke slowly in common with a thick accent, shaking her head. Her long, intricately braided and bound crimson hair fell over her tawny shoulders. "I knew the winds brought dark clouds this day...but the Raven Princess..."

The next button was Bowe Swiftarrow, leader of the Forest Clan. He too, stared at the spectacle before him, being generated by a small, enchanted marble-like object passed down leader to leader for five generations. His wise, hazel eyes peered at them all through bushy brown eyebrows dusted with salt and pepper. Like Kishma, he mentioned the strange winds, and shook his long slender muzzle gravely.

Next was Lord Druknik Longtail, Lord of the Highlanders, who appeared drunk, swaying and sloshing around a goblet full of wine almost bigger than his monkey-like head. "Come to tha...execution...?" he slurred groggily in an almost unintelligible form of common dialect. "Yes, I come...to see blood! I love blood!"

"Druknik!" a female voice hissed in the background followed by a slew of harsh snaps in a different language.

The monkey king closed his hand over his marble. "You no worry, I come to Wyndia," he slurred into his fist. They could see his lips pressing on the screen, his breath casting a fog over everything. "I come to Wyndia to see the Destroyer's blood, everywhere!" There was a crash and a scream and the screen went blank.

The king hastily hit another button before the others could voice their opinions. This time, the only things filling the next screen that lit up, were two beautiful midnight blue almond shaped eyes, shadowed by long, dark lashes and an abundance of deep violet. "Th-the Shade Queen..." the king stammered, staring wide eyed at the pools of blue, sitting against a background of mocha, that seemed to pull everything into them.

"Indeed," her soft voice murmured, thick with a surprisingly unknown accent, not Shydian.

"It's...really you?" came Vahn's awed voice.

The eyes looked amused, the slender nose bridge between them crinkled ever so slightly. "I have in my possession the magical item used to communicate to you all in this dire situation, the same item Wyndia's princess handed to me herself five hundred years ago," the musical voice sang. "So yes, it _is_ really me. However, such inquiries are far from what this meeting's purpose is. You shall get nothing more." The eyes went to the king. "I regret to say I cannot attend this...execution...personally. I will send an assistant to make an appearance."

"An _assistant_?" Kishma snarled. "You speak of breaking the pact?"

The Shade Queen's eyes closed and a yawn floated out of her speakers, causing Kishma's fur to ruffle even more. "I trust the winged ones will do their part."

"Don't you want to see for yourself to make sure it happens? What if they try to hide her like they do the younger one?" Bowe cut in. The king gaped at him. There it was, right out in the open.

"I have no time to argue this matter further," the eyes narrowed at the wolfman and then returned to Issac. "Good luck with the beheading of your daughter. Fate is most often cruel to us." and with that, her screen went blank.

"Insolent," growled Kishma. "She acts as though she's better than us all."

"She _is _the Immortal Bandit Queen," Vahn piped in.

"It doesn't matter what she is! What makes her think she can blatantly state that she isn't going to abide by the pact?"

"We don't need her," a deep voice boomed from directly in front of the king. "Killing the cursed one will be enough."

"I agree. We only wish for zee threat to be eliminated."

The king had hurriedly pressed more buttons during the Bandit Queen's farewell, and now the beady black eyes of Chief Marduke Steelforge, leader of the Iron Ox clan, along with the bulbous ones of King Jaquarde DuMontag, leader of the Aqua Clan, were upon him.

"Where is the demon woman now?" Came the singsong voice of the shaman priestess of the north, Princess Suuki Clearwater as she appeared, glaring at everyone with bright violet eyes through wild sea green hair.

Only one other screen had not lit up. Issac frantically searched for the button to end this wretched meeting.

"Yes, where _is_ she now?" Kishma repeated. "I had heard she was to be married to you, Vahn of Ludia."

A grimace lined the young human man's delicate features. "Yes, she was to be my wife... This...would have been my wedding night..." his pale eyes stared off into nothing for a long moment. "However, the Goddess has made it clear it was not meant to be." he clasped his hands together and set his chin on them. "I, along with my adviser warped her to back to Wyndia into the care of their royal guardian. She is bound with chains that I myself imbued with a containment enchantment that should last up to a week. Surely we can get this finished before then?"

Nods were seen on all screens. The king ran his palm hard across the keyboard in a last ditch attempt to push any other button he hadn't pushed yet, and the last screen finally flickered on. All that could be seen was dirt. "I know nothing!" a small voice screeched. "We dirt-dwellers are neutral. NEUTRAL!" The screen became blank.

And so the last voice was heard, The Dirt Clan's leader, Mogi Dirtclaw.

"And so they break the pact as well..." Bowe growled.

"Are we all in agreement that we must meet in Wyndia in less than a week?" Kishma asked choosing to ignore the impudent mole king, her sharp eyes darting around the room, challenging any of them to speak against her. There was a chorus of agreement and then all eyes were again upon the king of Wyndia, who swallowed hard, feeling incredibly small before their enlarged, disheartened stares filling the screens.

"Yes, we...will be ready," he said, swallowing hard.

One by one the screens turned off, and when finally Vahn's frown disappeared from view, the king sagged to his knees, the torch he was holding rolling from limp fingers and falling at his feet. Asheton rushed to grab it. "Are you alright, Your Majesty?" he cried swiping it up.

Issac ignored him, raising shaking hands to his face. "If Milyna could see me now...executing our own daughter..."

Asheton's eyes softened under bushy white brows, and he stood silently within the flickering light of the torch he held, watching the King of Wyndia place his head in those hands, and openly weep before him.

* * *

Nina felt, smelled grass all around her. Pleasant breezes nipped at her clothes and caused the blades of green she knew surrounded her to lightly brush against her skin.

She opened her eyes, and found it surprisingly easy to do so.

Blue sky stretched out in a dome high above her, filled with bulging fluffy white clouds, shining from rays of the sun breaking through. Tall stemmed, colorful wildflowers swayed into her vision with the coming of more winds. She smiled; a soft, fuzzy feeling sweeping over an anxiety within her she couldn't for the life of her remember, but somehow felt immensely happy to forget.

Whatever this place was...she never wanted to leave.

"I figured you might like it."

The young male voice jarred Nina from her heaven and she sat up quickly, marveling again at how easy it was for her to move around; A feeling that was soon replaced by other one gnawing at her, telling her this was all wrong, and that there were important things going on around her she needed to take care of. But what things...she couldn't recall.

Beside her, the owner of the voice, a navy haired child in rags, smiled. "My sister used to like it as well," he said looking over at her with pale yellow eyes, tucking his long, wild hair back behind one ear and out of the wind.

Nina's mind raced, tried to rewind back to something crucial. Someone could make places like this appear out of nowhere. Someone she knew she shouldn't ever be around.

The boy shook his head. "No, Fai'en, I am not him. The Kaiser sleeps now," he said. "Crafting scenes like that out of nothing tires him out, as much as he would not like to admit. He should not bother us anymore this day."

The Kaiser? It sounded familiar...Why couldn't she remember anything?

"It is best you do not dwell upon the meaning of the entity known as 'Kaiser', F'aien," the boy answered her thoughts softly, face darkening. "Within him, lies only despair."

She started to ask why they were speaking Old Wyndian, when laughter from other children echoed in the near distance. Nina gazed out from where she was perched. She was sitting atop a large hill in a grassy field abundant in colorful wildflowers that spread out as far as her eyes could see. Below them, two children chased each other towards another hill in front of them.

Nina blinked at them, her question forgotten. One was a replica of the child in front of her, and the other...

"My sister, Ana. This is a memory I have of us playing in the fields outside of Drogen." A wistful look passed over the boy's face as he watched his image get tackled by the giggling little girl. "I am sorry I cannot create anything more...I can only use my own memories."

"This is...a memory...?" Nina asked, cocking her head. "I...don't understand..." Who was this boy, what _was _this place? A memory? No matter how hard she tried to shake them, the cobwebs clogging her mind wouldn't clear.

"I wanted to thank you," he said quickly, hunching over and hiding his face in the over sized collar of the crimson cloak he was wearing until only his eyes were showing.

"Thank me?" She asked, startled. "For what?"

The eyes looked irritated, as if it pained him to speak of this any longer. "You stood up for me before the Kaiser," he said, voice slightly muffled. "It means more than you think." She stared at him, further confused, and watched him shuffle uncomfortably in her gaze. "Tch, why do I even bother?" he huffed. "I displace all of your 'nightmarish' thoughts in order to give you a bit of peace, and now you don't even recognize me..."

"I..."

"Forget it!" he snapped. "Enjoy it, alright? Ladon knows how many days we have left."

Nina let her eyes linger for a moment longer on the flustered boy, wondering what those strange warm feelings brewing inside of her were, and then shrugged, lying back down on the grass, feeling the blades once again tickle her skin. She was finding it too hard to focus on anything for too long anyway. All she could think about was how much she just wanted to relax and fall asleep in this comfortable, beautiful world.

"Sleep well, Fai'en," the boy's soft, strange accented, voice murmured. Sweet sleep crawled over her, claiming her body appendage by appendage. She smiled into the cool breezes, the fluffy clouds slowly being blotted out by her closing lids.

"Thank...you, Ryu..." she murmured back, drifting off into a smooth, peaceful slumber.

His eyes flickered to the side, but he didn't move. "I do what I must."

* * *

Ryu didn't know what the hell was happening to him.

He had followed Ethan to the dungeon, where the red head and some soldiers locked up Nina amongst crude, hollering inmates, then went to scout out the execution grounds. There weren't any people loitering about, so Ryu assumed word about the black wings had not yet spread here. Feeling satisfied they were in the clear at least for today, he thought to steal away into the same old abandoned storeroom he had taken refuge in during his last stay in Wyndia a few days ago, to take a much needed catnap. He had just settled into a ball on a pile of old, empty, burlap potato sacks, and was closing his weary eyes, when the panic struck.

He clutched at his chest, twisting the chain mail covering it into his fingers, trying in vain to comprehend the massive amounts of adrenaline pumping through his body with the coming of a spontaneous panic attack. His heart fluttered so violently he felt it would burst. He fought for breath, gasping and writhing invisibly against the scratchy fabric of the sacks. Wide, damp eyes darted around the room, suddenly fearing every shadow the storeroom's clutter cast in the dusty sunlight streaming in through its dirty windows.

Not being in control of himself, should have enraged the dragon, but he found it was almost impossible to discern _what _he was feeling over this new found fear crushing down onto him, its goal seeming to be the elimination of any other emotion having the gall to step up and try to exist along side of it. His hyperventilation worsened, and the rush of more oxygen dizzied him. He grabbed both sides of his head, digging his fingers into his hair, and pulled his knees closer to his chin before darkness claimed him.

* * *

Visions poured into his head. Visions of chaos and blood that shivered him to the bone. In them, everyone the princess knew was slaughtered before his eyes by a riot bursting into and setting fire to castle Wyndia in pursuit of destroying the younger Wyndian sister. He watched, almost hysterically, her sister Isabella stabbed and sliced to pieces by farmers with rusty scythes and pitchforks, blood splattering all over their crazed cheering faces.

"Wh-what is all of this?" cried Ryu to deaf ears. "What is happening to me?"

The vision faded away, this time to be replaced by one of him, smiling madly, holding a bloodstained sword handle sticking out of her boyfriend's bare white back as he lay hunched over a bed. The dragon surprisingly found himself terrified at his own piercing eyes, the sight of them giving weight to the already cold hard lump sitting in the pit of his stomach.

"My 'nightmarish' thoughts..." his ears pricked at a familiar female voice, and Nina appeared in front of him, snow white wings suspending her in the unknown blackness he somehow was standing in as well.

Ryu sent a scrutinizing eye over her and attempted unsuccessfully to keep his trembling to a minimum. She was Nina, but she looked, astonishingly more beautiful. Her body emitted a soft glow that spread to every feather of her majestic wings, and a smile graced her face so serene, so inviting, it threw up a million red flags in his mind. It was the Kaiser taking on her form to try and trick him. It had to be!

His jaw clenched. There! There was some anger!

"I'm not the Kaiser...whatever he may be," Nina said shaking her head, answering his thoughts. "It is not he who did this to you."

"I d-don't believe you." The fear pounded harder at him, tried to pummel that anger into a meaningless pulp. It was just going to devour him like always, Ryu thought madly, and ferociously pull him into an insanity he would rather die than experience again for another night.

Madness cracked a smile over his distressed face. He wanted to kill it. It would be easy now that it looked like her. All he had to do was imagine it _was_ that woman while he was tearing into it.

Nina cocked her head at him, innocent eyes staring at him with strikingly real naivety. "You really still think I'm the demon?" she asked, full lips making a sickeningly attractive pout.

He answered by pouncing and clamping his mouth hard onto her throat, sinking his teeth deep into her soft flesh. There was a gasp and a gurgle from her and he snapped his head back, ripping it open, showering himself in her blood.

He saw her die. He saw her eyes focus for the last time and the life fade from them. She fell limp in his arms and then, there was nothing. He blinked. She was gone. He whirled around. There was nothing but blackness surrounding him.

The projector displaying those grotesque visions of the downfall of the Wyndian royal legacy cranked on again in his mind, and the terror resulting from them grinded an iron spiked fist into his gut. Why where these scenes disturbing him so? He had seen much, much worse, he thought, quickly wiping at the tears pouring relentlessly down his face as he watched Isabella being butchered for the second time. He'd _done _so much worse...

But this...struck him on such a deep level, he couldn't begin to comprehend the sorrow bursting from his heart.

Pale, milky arms wrapped around his waist. Delicate hands rested on his heaving chest. Ryu felt a head against his shivering back. "You're doing a very noble thing, Ryu." Nina's voice reached his ears, making the hairs on the back of his neck go rigid. He wildly whipped his head back and gnashed his sharp teeth at her, making a ghastly face. She stared up at him with pity for a moment, managing to keep her hold on him even as he was tearing madly at her grip. "Endure it for just a little longer..."

Another vision came, and he watched himself being thrown down against the chopping block in the Wyndian execution grounds by soldiers, crowds of people screaming obscenities and throwing rotted fruit and vegetables at him. Out of the corner of his eye the executioner's giant weapon flashed in the light of the sun, and was brought swiftly down to sever his head from his body, releasing all the anger and madness alongside his flowing blood, leaving the dragon once again with only incessant fear wrecking havoc inside of his already unstable mind.

"You're such a noble soul, Ryu..." Nina repeated in almost a whisper, dropping to her knees in the darkness along with him, nuzzling her face into the back of his trembling form. "Whether you know it, or not..."

And she held him, while he endured her pain.

* * *

**A/N: **I want to again say thanks to everyone continuing to read and review; you make me happy!


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

_It is Not Such a Difficult Task, Bending the Minds of Mortals To Their Breaking Points_

She was a wretched, pitiful sight.

Her long locks, once the brilliance of sunlight on honey, spilled out over her crumpled form in frizzy, tangled waves, dampened and dirty from the dungeon's dank air, obscuring any view of her face as she lay on a floor so full of muck and grime, it was unfit for the worst of criminals. The fine, white Ludian nuptial fabric covering her was now nothing more than a graying, molding rag, soaking up the reeking water dripping steadily onto her from the moss ridden stone ceiling above. Gray dirt streaked her pale skin like woren stripes from where the water happened to dry enough.

She was a wretched, pitiful sight.

Yet he could not take his eyes from her.

The King of Wyndia sat back against an almost equally muck covered wall on the other side of the thick iron bars separating him from her disease ridden cell, ignoring the fact that he was going to have to discard his robes for doing so, and stared at his daughter lying there, shackled like a wild animal.

Three days had passed, and she had not moved from that position, not even for food. She _looked _merely asleep, but deep down, he believed she was not. That she could indeed hear everything being said about her, and was listening quite intently to it.

That she knew, she was going to be executed soon.

He had ordered Ethan to relocate the last of the inmates inhabiting the cells near her to cease their incessant crudeness from attacking the poor girl's ears. If anything, allowing her to spend the rest of her days in quiet seemed to momentarily quell the guilt hammering him into the ground.

There was a creaking sound at the top of the stairs at the end of the hallway. "I brought you some hot tea, Sire," Ethan's voice called down after the loud boom of the dungeon door closing. He navigated his way to the king through many small puddles of murky water spotting the floor, his long, dark shadow dancing about the walls from the light of the torches lining them. He set a cup puffing steam into his Liege's already outstretched hand without hearing a word of thanks.

For awhile, the only sounds filling the room were the steady drips of water onto water, the crackle of the torches, and the king's slow sipping, as he and Ethan both observed the battle for existence the thin strips of afternoon sunlight actually managing to slip through the dirt caked window near the ceiling of Nina's cell were having with whatever magic now possessed her feathers.

The light, was hopelessly losing.

"...I was...prepared for this to happen to Isabella," the king suddenly spoke, and Ethan's attention flickered down to him. Issac took a painstakingly long sip of his tea before speaking again. "Everyone was. Even Milyna. I made sure we were all well prepared." He paused, shook his head slowly. "I've ignored that little girl her whole life, and for what? To have _this _happen?"

Ethan was politely quiet. The king took another sip, blinked his eyes hard. "Nina wasn't a bad child...she just...was born stubborn...like Milyna..." his hand gripped the cup harder and began to shake, the liquid inside rippled with the movement. "She looks so much like her mother too..." he murmured. Water began to trickle from his eyes in tiny streams that glistened in the torchlight. "I couldn't take looking at her anymore, hearing her heart wrenchingly similar voice...so I treated her horribly...threw her to that wolf in Ludia..."

She was a wretched, pitiful sight.

Yet he could not take his eyes from her.

Was the pain stabbing relentlessly into his heart remotely enough to atone for the sin he would soon commit; the innocent soul he was going to play the reaper's hand with?

Ethan watched in silent wonder, the king age years in seconds.

* * *

Everyday that passed uneventful, piled more stress onto the already overburdened dragon's shoulders, making him an even worse nervous wreck than the day before it.

A nervous, _enraged _wreck.

Clueless as to what brought on the random panic attack that left him in such a humiliating state of despair that he was clutching his arms and legs to himself, rocking back and forth for Ladon knew how many hours, Ryu could barely calm the blood boiling in his veins. In a rash, embarrassed frenzy, he had cemented himself onto a rooftop overlooking the execution grounds to stake it out, and vowed up there to never sleep again.

Unfortunately for him, sleep considered this an empty promise, and after two days straight of him analyzing to the smallest detail every persons' movements that came anywhere near the grounds until he felt his eyes would bleed with the effort, it fell on him like a load of boulders. He was forced to retreat back to that deplorable storeroom, where another complete, unproductive day flew by with him snoring away.

A day filled with dreams of the glowing, white winged Nina.

If it were really the Kaiser, the demon was getting vastly uncreative with his methods of torture. In various different scenes, this elegant copy of the Wyndian princess stubbornly insisted on only having simple conversation with him.

Conversation! Of all things!

Ryu continuously removed her from his sight, disposing of her in dreadful, gruesome ways that nearly always left him bathing in her blood, yet every time he did so, she would be back again, going from mangled corpse to unscathed angel within a single blink of his eyes.

And each time, frustration and hurt saturated her features further.

"You're impossible, you know that?" she finally exploded at him after a particularly brutal slaying, standing her tallest yet, hands fastened to her hips.

The dragon's lip curled at the comment, and he slammed the bottom of his foot into her torso. Her brittle bird-like bones snapped on impact. Her popping eyes struggled to focus on his smirking face. When they could not, she slumped until her forehead smacked into his leg. Her arms followed and fell limp at her sides. He started to pull his foot back, when the arms of the "corpse" latched onto him. He growled and tugged, but could not break free from her grip. Her head lifted slowly, and she met his wild eyes with a pair drenched in sadness. "I just...wanted to see if you really were...the good...guy I was...starting to...think...you...w...ere..." she sputtered through blood flecked lips. He watched her eyes focus on him one last time, and devoid of their light. She slumped again, and this time when her head hit his leg, it, along with the rest of her body, fell away into shimmering white dream feathers.

Ryu slowly put his leg down and stared at the feathers floating daintily through the air, his face a mask of stone.

* * *

There was no night and day.

It was always dark; there was no way to tell the difference.

Being awake, being asleep...it didn't matter.

Each was hell.

Reality brought the cold wetness, the horrible musty smells, the seemingly thousands of pounds of dirt on her, the burning sensation of the chains, the churning in her stomach desperate for the food she was too weary to accept.

It brought the crushing hopelessness that came with the knowledge her death was coming soon.

They were yelling it. They wouldn't stop.

"_You're dead soon, you know that, witch?"_

"_You was so pretty, now look at you, worse than us!"_

"_Demon! Monster!"_

"_I hope they let us see you bleed, girl!"_

The chain's enchantment didn't allow her the energy to even cry.

Sleep.

When the jeers faded, a new hell began.

Nightmares of Isabella being hacked apart by crazed rioters, nightmares of herself the moment the axe would come in contact with her neck on the chopping block.

She would try to turn away. Shadows would wrap around her head and force her to face them.

She would try to close her eyes. Shadows would form hands and pry them open again.

And _he_ would appear; a white-haired, Ryu-like torso riding atop bubbling blobs of darkness, dark wings of silky black smoke flowing behind him.

**Accept me, and they will disappear, **he would breathe, smiling a malevolent, eager smile and offering a twisted black clawed hands to her. **Together, we can make **_**everything **_**disappear.**

_Killing accomplishes nothing, _she struggled to think once through the madness his presence continually beat into her soul.

**Killing **_**always **_**accomplishes something.**

_I will not give in to you!_

The Kaiser then paused, narrowing blindingly bright red hot embers at her. **You saw what happened to the half-breed. You **_**will**_ **be consumed just the same. **The clawed hand took hold of her chin, pulled her dangerously close to them. **It is not such a difficult task, bending the minds of mortals to their breaking points, Keeper.**

His wings of smoke arched forward and crashed down onto her, encircling her in a room of swirling, hypnotizing patterns spreading wherever her eyes happened to fall. Within those patterns, the tortured faces of everyone she knew and loved manifested. Her mother, Chasta, Isabella, Ethan, various castle staff, even her father's image made an appearance. Everywhere she turned, there they were, all writhing in agony. "Help us...Nina..." Chasta's voice was behind her. She turned around to see her best friend's moaning face sprout arms and hands, both of which twisted and stretched pitifully, reaching out to her in heartbreaking desperation. "Make...it...st-op...!" To her right, Isabella shrieked a dying wail.

"No!" Nina cried, hands flying to her ears. The shadows promptly ripped them away.

"Ni...na..." At her feet, a distorted Ethan stared up at her with eye sockets so black, so incredibly _empty_, they pulled everything from her vision and consumed it until only they remained. She couldn't look away from them, no matter how much she wished to. Even when it began to crawl up her leg, its wispy, spidery arms wrapping her in raw, biting fear, she couldn't look away.

**Eventually...everyone breaks...**

_Chip, chip, chip, _went the edges of her sanity, crumbling away under the Kaiser's cruel hand.

* * *

It wasn't until the fifth day, Ryu actually saw something happen.

A band of Worens appeared at the city gates all riding shining, armored whelks; six heavily armed males surrounding one sharp looking crimson haired female that obviously was their leader. Wyndians poured out of their homes and marketplaces to crowd the streets around the strange procession, necks and wings all craned in curiosity. More parades ensued. A group of wolf-men also on whelks followed the worens. Minutes later, a party of gigantic Iron Ox men stomped through the gates, their combined marching shaking the entire city and forcing the people to grab the ones standing near them for support. The King of Wyndia met the parties at the castle gates, and made a short announcement to his people with a loud, spell amplified voice. Whatever he said roused excited chatter from the crowds, and bunches of them broke off into the streets and headed towards the execution grounds.

Probably to find the best view of the chopping block, Ryu mused to himself darkly. He watched, from the top of one of castle Wyndia's ivory sky high towers, the frenzied crowds take in the – the dragon was almost positive- news of the Angel of Death, and scurry around, half in a panic and half almost joyously, while trying to shake the cotton from his brain.

The princess was very, very weak. She hadn't eaten or drank a thing in days and was feverish.

He rubbed at his wrists and sneezed. The frigid metal on the chains she wore burned his skin. He sighed. Without the the Kaiser feeding him those lovely endorphins, he was once again able to share in her joy. Frankly, he found himself more than a little worried the dark entity was being abnormally quiet these past few days. It prompted him to believe it was preying on a much more vulnerable source than he.

A cold sweat drenched him suddenly, and Ryu doubled over. He pulled his cloak tighter around himself, tried to put out of his mind his aching joints and the agonizing pains shooting through his middle. He dry heaved as quietly as one could, and wiped his cracked lips on his collar.

Before he gave another thought to escaping, he was going to have to get something on his other half's stomach.

* * *

The taunts stopped, but the pain lingered, although it was getting number as of late.

Everything was fuzzy now, far away. Nina found it increasingly harder to understand the words people were saying around her, _if_ there still was anything being said. She wasn't sure what was what anymore.

Even the Kaiser's world was fading into nonsense. His jumbled, incoherent rantings floated about her disabled mind, whispering, prodding...but it didn't matter. She knew without hearing them.

Would it really be so bad? Could she accept him and still keep enough of a hold on herself to _not_ kill?

The thought of killing, actually _ending lives_ with her own hands, scared her out of her mind, but so did her own violent demise. More often than not, she found herself considering the demon's offer; longing to do almost anything to stop his madness from consuming her. As it was, she was hanging on by mere threads.

Pain raked through her body from her stomach and tore straight into her dreams, yanking her out of the Kaiser's blurry, shadowy grip once more and throwing her back into her cold, shivering, wet, rank smelling hell of a real world. There was going to be no ending different than the obvious, she thought, as more painful spasms jostled her insides and threw white and red stars popping like fireworks behind her eyelids. Cold sweat poured onto her skin, making her shiver uncontrollably in the puddle of water she was already lying in. Silent whimpers escaped chapped, chattering lips.

This really was too much...

"Fai'en? Can you hear me, Fai'en...?"

The words were faint, but cut through her insanity like the sharpest knife. Her heart gave a joyous leap. Ryu! He was here! He was here to save her and they would go-

-absolutely nowhere.

Her spark of hope snuffed itself out before it ever had the chance to shine. She would never be safe with the Black Wings...didn't he know that? She had already accepted by now that not even _Ethan_ was going to be able to help her...so why was he...?

Now awake, she was painfully more aware of the fever's grip on her. Her cheeks and forehead pulsed, burned. Rough, calloused hands touched her chin gently and parted her lips with something metal. "Try to drink..." the dragon's strange accented voice coaxed into her ear.

The liquid was hot, pooled deliciously in her mouth. She tried to swallow. It tasted so good on her tongue! The hands mercifully moved her jaw and tilted her head slightly up. The liquid went down her throat, as he continued gently whispering to her, helping her get the nutrients down. While her stomach reveled in something other than itself to munch on, her mind screamed defiance at the creature's display of kindness. She still didn't want to trust him! She wanted nothing to do with him, _he _was the one that did this to her! This..._monster_! He was only feeding her because if he didn't, he would starve as well!

She tried to to tell him to leave, that it was pointless to try and save her, that he should give up like she had, but there was no strength to back the words. She swallowed another bite of the heavenly, peppery mixture, feeling her fever and the chains once again pull her out of coherence's sight and back into the embrace of wicked, writhing shadows.

If only this vicious cycle would end...

* * *

Ryu staggered back into the darkest corner of Nina's cell as he felt her consciousness leave her, falling back hard against the grimy walls. He was invisible, and so was the warm tin of stew in his hand, but he was still thankful the guards happened to be patrolling outside at the moment. Water splashed loudly when he hit the floor.

His body ached, burned, felt..._awful_. He looked down at Nina, and took a gulp of the stew, watching her shiver just as violently as he in a puddle of water. He wanted to do something, move her into a dry spot, give her his cloak to wear, _something _to help, but he knew he couldn't. She hadn't moved in days so her in a different position would spark suspicion, and he didn't have the strength to bother with the main guard around these parts; the red head.

Feverish, absurd thoughts swirled into his mind as he stared at her until his vision blurred, giving him the idea that transforming was the answer. Just the claws. He could rip apart anything he wished...

_No,_ his mind threw back sharply, _Illness or not, I will not play into your ruse. I will save her when the time is right. With my _own _strength. _

**We will perish before your strength gets us anywhere.**

_I refuse to provide the chaos in which you thrive._

**And I grow weary of these pointless games you two are playing.**

Before Ryu could have the time to contemplate what game the girl could possibly be playing with the Kaiser in her state, his ears pricked to the boom of the door to the dungeon banging closed. He expected to see Ethan round the corner like he usually did, sharp, dark eyes darting wildly about every corner, but it was not he that came to stand on the other side of the bars. It was a tall, hooded cloaked figure, and judging by the way it was standing and the flowery perfume smell it emitted, it was a female. Ryu watched it stand perfectly still for a long time, staring at the princess with its expression hidden in the darkness of her heavy cowl.

"Geez..." it suddenly spoke with a controlled voice Ryu didn't understand floating out of the void. "You've _really _never looked better!" She stared a bit more, spun around on her heels, and practically skipped back to the large dungeon door, whistling tunelessly along the way.

The door banged again, and Ryu's disoriented vision caught sight of a small baby blue feather sitting in a puddle of water.

* * *

The seventh day came, along with the rest of the leaders, as well as the most beautiful weather imaginable.

Wyndia was alive with people of many different races, all rushing in to get the best seats for the biggest event to happen in Elanaar since the scare the birth of Isabella had created. The streets swarmed with merchants, each taking advantage of the other races' pockets with phony overpriced things that had "once belonged" to the Angel of Death, or "had once been in the vicinity of" the cursed one.

Issac leaned against the railing of his balcony and stared at the masses of bobbing heads, tails, and wings at the castle gates; people waiting to be the first ones to have a look at the demon girl. He raised a cup of coffee to his lips and took a sip of the hot, bitter liquid, soft breezes nipping at his sandy bangs underneath an unbearably heavy crown.

"The leaders wish to see the princess before she is lead out into the public," Ethan's voice came from behind him.

"Tell them I will be there momentarily," he murmured without looking back, taking another sip.

"As you wish, Sire." Ethan bowed and walked out of the room.

Kishma Bloodclaw met the guardian a little down the hallway. Her long tiger striped tail twitched irritably behind her. "Well, is he coming? We want to make sure you birds are holding up your end," she snapped bluntly, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

Ethan gave her a sharp bow. "I assure you, us _birds _are not trying to pull anything on you."

The woren didn't look impressed. "Every time I think about that little one of yours being kept alive, I think you are trying to pull something on me," she huffed and swung open a door beside her.

Seven very different heads looked up, most of which were flanked by guards of their same race. "I expected to see the king return, not his lap dog," Bowe Swiftarrow growled through a graying muzzle.

Ethan bowed. "I apologize for his majesty's tardiness. He shall be along shortly."

An attractive young Shydian woman – the assistant the Bandit Queen sent – with mocha skin and long, pin straight, jet black hair, flicked her wrist and produced from thin air a deep violet, very ornate fan to use on herself while yawning delicately. Her thick black rimmed, jewel-like green eyes closed. She was the only one who didn't have a single guard accompanying her.

Druknik Longtail took a long, slobbering look at her before he slammed a fist holding a large, empty golden goblet onto the table. "What take so long?" He cried in his thick accent. "You get me drink or blood, bird!" Behind him, two lanky highlanders brandished knives in their hands and feet, and growled at everyone in the room from behind black bandannas covering their faces, solidifying the tension.

Fur and skin bristled in silence until the king of Wyndia entered the room and broke it. "I am sorry for the wait," he said with an obvious effort to keep his voice even, bowing low before them. His adviser Asheton peeked in through his wings. "Please follow me. I will take you to where the princess is being held." He turned before they could speak, and pushed his way past Asheton, not bothering to pause for the others.

Druknik jumped up. "Blood! Soon, so much blood!" the monkey cried, clapping his hands together and scurrying out of the room to catch up with the king, his guards slinking lithely after him, shooting red-eyed glares at the others on their way out.

The Shydian woman stood along with Kishma, Bowe, Marduke of the Iron Ox clan, and Jaquarde the Aqua clan leader. "Time to see what this monster looks like," Kishma said, and couldn't help but to shudder at the thought of it. Suuki Clearwater stood then as well, pushing her long sea green hair out of her face, and they all, along with their own guardians, followed the blood crazed highlanders outside until there was only Vahn left sitting at the table.

"Are you really ready to see this happen, Vahn?" Nichol asked softly, moving to stand beside him, his bright blue eyes on his prince's pale hands clasped tightly together underneath his chin.

Vahn's eyes opened slowly, but he did not speak. He stood and briskly stepped from the room. Nichol tailed him, shaking his head.

* * *

"It's...revolting..."

"Zee soul..._shivers_...before it..."

"I'm at a loss for words...the...oh just _look _at the horrid things!"

"Spill her blood now!" _clap, clap _"Red rain everywhere!"

From the farthest, darkest corner of the cell, Ryu slowly forced open one of his eyes to see many blurry, fuzzy, blobs moving about on the other side of the bars. He squinted, tried to focus, but the blobs wouldn't form into anything recognizable. No use, he would have to rely on his nose to see for him. He took a deep, ragged breath when the voices started up again.

"Are you sure she isn't dead already?"

"Yes, she looks...rather under the weather to me as well..."

"Under the weather is an understatement."

A plethora of different species' scents bore into Ryu, making every hair on his body bristle; it had to be all of those important looking people he saw coming in through the city gates earlier! That meant, Nina was going to be executed probably sooner than he wanted to think. He feebly raised a hand in the darkness and struggled to pull the shadows thicker onto him, hoping since the Wyndian partially had a dragon scent anyways, the more animal-like races would mistake his for the curse within her.

The concentration, almost put the lights out for him.

During the last two nights, Nina's fever had gained remarkable strength, raging through them both like fires of the deepest depths of hell, stealing every bit of their life force and making it its' own. He could barely stay awake, and his burning body throbbed at every joint. His limbs were heavy, his breath short.

Maybe the Kaiser was right. Maybe they _were _going to perish with him in charge.

There was a screech, the sound of metal sliding through stone. Ryu tensed. The scents were coming closer.

"Pick her up. Make sure she isn't dead," a sharp female voice barked, "Gods, what is that _smell_?"

"Do not touch the chains, the enchantment I laid on them is extremely potent." A familiar stench and voice wafted towards Ryu, and he immediately knew who was closest to him. The one with the glasses was nearby as well. His blood started to boil for a different reason than the fever.

Ryu wanted to destroy those two sorcerers, make them wish they never had messed with him. If it had been five hundred years earlier, they would have been sorry the moment they attacked him. Magic...no matter how fast, meant _nothing _to him in his prime.

**Oh how ****_fun_****, are we finally ready to spring into action?**

_I do not know what you're talking about!_ Ryu's mind voice sneered, but with a hint of reluctance.

The Kaiser was no fool. That bastard caught _everything._

**You want to. You want to rip them apart for humiliating you. You know it to be true.**

He _was _right. Every fiber of Ryu's being wanted their blood all over it; the intense emotion breaking through even the fever's dark cloud hovering over him.

**That's it...get angry... They deserve to die... They ****_all _****deserve to be destroyed...You are a dragon! A race above all others! You will not be held a prisoner like this by lowly creatures such as these. Do they have the power of a god on their side? I should think not.**

The Kaiser's madness crashed down on him in waves of white hot hatred. They _did_ deserve to die. Every last one of those lowly, ignorant-

"_You really don't think that way..."_

Ryu slowly opened burning eyes to see the transparent, ghostly form of a woman drop to her knees in front of him and slip her arms around his neck. He couldn't focus, couldn't see who she was. There was something blindingly bright sprouting from her back.

"_You don't think that way..." _she repeated, hugging him tight, the soft words she spoke floating through the madness, extinguishing his overwhelming bloodlust almost instantly. The Kaiser's influence roared in protest to its shove back into the recesses of the dragon's feverish mind. _"Do you...Ryu?" _His pale eyes went wide.

"By the Gods, look how sick and filthy she is!" a female voice gasped. "Get a healer in here before she dies!"

"You mean you want to...heal her from the brink of death...just so you can turn around and kill her a different way a second later?" that shaking voice was the king's, Ryu's senses cleared up enough for him to recognize it.

"_You're a good dragon...aren't you, Ryu?" _the ghost woman whispered, her arms loosening from his neck. He tried to reach for her, the one who had miraculously kept him from the madness...but his hand went through her white arms like nothing was there. He blinked. She was gone.

The fever continued its crippling rampage.

"Boring!" There was stomping and a fierce growl. "She not fight if dead! Want to see fight, then blood!"

"Even if she was healed, the chains would keep her from fighting..."

"I not believe you! I heal her myself!"

There was a flash of light, and suddenly the blobs before Ryu's eyes became crystal clear. The fever's claws released their grip, and sweet relief washed over him, leaving only the chain's enchantment hindering him now. Finally! Luck was leaning his way!

He silently got onto all fours, peering hard at the large Iron Ox man with the one broken horn on the left side of his head holding Nina's limp body in his giant hands. The flush was gone from her cheeks, the sweat dried from her brow. Beside them, a highlander in red royal robes and a tiny gold, ruby encrusted crown resting on his head, stomped on the stone with bare feet. "No fair! She still sleeping! Wake her up!"

"Stop this, Druknik!" The woren female leader he noticed before snarled at him. "We came here to see if it was the real thing before they parade her out there, that's all!"

"You the one who mad she almost dying, cat! You thank Druknik!"

"_What _did you just call me?" the woren cried, hands already fists at her sides. Her -armed the the teeth- guardians, three woren males wearing not much more than necklaces of bones draped over heavily tattooed chests and tattered long pants, edged towards the highlander guards, lips curled back to reveal their large, sharp canines.

"Enough!" The king cried, walking over and carefully taking his daughter out of the Iron Ox's hands before the woren and the highlander's astonished stares. He looked around at them all, face grim against the torchlight. "Let us get this over with, please. Then you can all go back to your lands, and we can forget anything like this ever happened." The woren looked like she was going to retort, but hesitated when she saw the sadness branded in the Wyndian's eyes. The king lowered his head, and used one of his hands to wipe the dirty, matted blonde hair from Nina's dirt splattered, sleeping face. "Please...I just want to get this over with..." he pleaded to them again in almost a whisper, not seeing even Druknik's face flicker empathy.

He turned, daughter in hand, and headed out of the cell to present her to death himself.

* * *

The sun was blindingly bright, some of its rays managed to penetrate through even the thick atmosphere of the shadow realm. Ryu placed a hand over his eyes and blinked to adjust. Massive crowds of people pushing against the castle gates flooded into view as he exited castle Wyndia strides behind Nina, their screaming voices hitting him from several directions.

_"There it is! Kill it!"_

_"Kill the monstrosity!"_

_"Die, hellspawn, die!"_

Rotting fruit and vegetables flew in through the bars of the tall, ivory gates, splattering on the ground inches from where all the leaders were standing. Prince Vahn and his adviser both raised their hands into the air and created a thin, shimmering shield pulsing around the group. Ryu, engrossed in the grotesquely angry faces of the mob, saw it coming too late, and failed to make it inside before it solidified. He flattened his nose against it in his attempt and fell backwards onto the cobblestones. The woren leader sniffed the air, turned around abruptly after throwing a quick glance at Nina, as did the wolfman. Vahn and Nichol both gave interested stares at a small cloud of dust fading into the air. Ryu slowly slunk back away from them, eyes wide and body tensed, taking in the fact that their stares were more of anticipation than confusion.

They knew. He guessed it shouldn't surprise him. Why would the humans _not _inform them all of a strange creature tailing their "demon"?

The woren whispered something to the wolfman and he nodded, crouching low and putting his nose to the ground. His scent! Ryu's eyes darted up to the castle walls. If he could get up there, he could jump down into the crowd. There were so many races out there, surely he could hide his scent in all of theirs. He clumsily leaped onto a wall near them, almost falling in doing so. Damn the chains! He thought bitterly, scrambling to the top; his legs were like anvils!

"Over here! He's over here!" Ryu whipped his head back to see the woren and wolfman's warriors bounding towards the wall.

Ryu cursed and pushed off, summoning all the strength he had to pump his heavy legs into action. He ran across the top of the wall to the gates just as they were opening and leaped out into the crowd, looking back in midair to see the warriors perched on the edge, looking wildly about. The dragon landed on a middle aged human man and took him straight to the ground. Behind him, the warriors pointed. "What the-?" the man cried. Ryu's invisible form jumped off of him, and dove headfirst into the depths of the crowd.

He had to dodge noses like the plague. Everywhere he turned, people were looking his way, nostrils flaring, their faces screwed up in confusion. A combination of the cell's grime and a weeks worth of unkempt hygiene collaborated together to form a giant blinking arrow pointing him out amongst the fray; the warriors were always one step away. He grabbed hold of his cloak and pulled it from around his shoulders, making sure to pocket the rusty serpent pendant that was attached to it first. He was going to have to get rid of the rank, soiled garment, and quick.

A splash of crimson in the corner of his eye made him spot a Wyndian soldier holding back a group of angry men with pitchforks in their hands nearby. On his shoulders, laid Ryu's new cloak.

The dragon silently sidled up, and swiftly, deftly, traded cloaks. Not a moment after the transaction was complete, a woren sprang lithely from the crowd and tackled the soldier to the ground. The angry men -now suddenly free- raised their pitchforks into the air in triumph, and marched over the two tumbling men towards the shielded leaders carrying the Angel of Death, screaming at the top of their lungs. Ryu took this chance to bound to a tall, skinny tree surrounded by white lilies in the middle of the execution grounds, and climb it to the top. Once there, he looked down at the soldier wearing his cloak struggling with it and the confused woren at the same time on top of him. The rest of the warriors stopped and tried to help take control of the situation. The dragon breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the grander scheme of things sucked the refreshing feeling straight out of him and down into the black hole he felt was opening up all around him.

Nina's procession was making its way to the large, stone, execution platform, and the uproar it catalyzed was monumental.

People were screaming until their faces were blue and veiny, shaking their fists in the air, some bare, some brandishing anything they considered could be a weapon. Rotted produce and rocks flew out of the sea of waving knives, swords, farm utensils, and boards with nails in them, and collided against the prince's magical shield in waves, all of them aimed at the limp, black winged girl's body. Ryu's eyes went to her sleeping face, seemingly unaware of the world around her.

Absurd, he thought, moving to the darkened face of her father, with his sandy blonde eyebrows knotted in a turmoil above his dark circled eyes known only by him. She had done nothing. She was a despicable winged one, but she had done nothing to deserve this kind of humiliation. The red-head, if he really was her boyfriend, didn't seem to care about anything. He was walking along side of her, duty the only emotion on his pale face.

_"Hurry up! Get her up there and let's rid ourselves of this evil!"_

_"No one wants a world of darkness, you witch! Die!"_

How did that woman know for sure five hundred years later, one of her ancestors would make a contract with the Kaiser? Ryu thought, watching parents prompt their children to join in the torment. He knew she was low, but to condemn her own blood?

Some of the leaders branched off when they reached the platform stairs, heading to front row seats guarded by the giant-like Iron Ox clan guardians, as well as another shield, where they sat comfortably within the chaos. The woren and wolfman warriors scampered to join back up with the procession, holding Ryu's cloak out for the highlanders, shamans, and aquarian bodyguards to study. The dragon clutched the tree he was on, his grip crushing leaves. How in Ladon's name was he supposed to deal with all of that?

**Easy. In seconds. I can make it so.**

_You don't know that, _Ryu's mind shot back, ignoring a shiver running down his spine in reaction to its voice. _You have no more control than I do. Death could come to us much swifter that way against so many seasoned warriors. _At least without the fever it was a lot easier to fend the entity off.

A brief picture of the Kaiser's snarling face flashed in front of his mind's eye. **If I could, I would drain all the dark blood from your veins myself**.

Ryu actually cracked a smile at its enraged comment. _I seriously doubt that. Wouldn't that put _me _in control of _you?

Before a retort came, Ryu's attention snapped back to Nina reaching the top of the stairs. The warriors fanned out around the king, the chopping block, and two of the biggest Wyndians Ryu had ever seen as executioners. Their heavily black cloaked bodies stood menacingly on either side of the raised, bloodstained stone that was the chopping block, their muscles bulging out of their sleeves. One hoisted the handle of a black axe almost as big as he on his shoulder. The other took hold of the princess from the king, who reluctantly relinquished his grip only after being pulled back by Ethan. Ryu's heart pounded with every step the king took to the front of the platform, his face on Nina until he reached the edge.

The King stood for awhile, gazing upon all of the people wishing for the princess' life to come to a violent, bloody end, taking in the jeers, the screams, the overwhelming hatred being spewed into the air like poison. He gave a long sigh, then raised a finger to his lips and gave them a quick, magical touch. "As proclaimed by her majesty, the farseer Nyna Valerie Wynlan II, five hundred years ago," he took a deep, uneven breath that echoed, "The Angel of Death, my...daughter..., is hereby c-condemned to death by e-execution..." Clapping and cheers from the crowd cut his magically enhanced speech short. The highlander leader in the front row danced like it was a party, clapping his hands together quickly and excitedly, bounding back and forth in front of the execution platform. The king shook his head, covering his face with his hand, and let Ethan pull him back behind the row of warriors poised for attack.

**I needn't remind you we are almost out of time, do I?**

Ryu swallowed hard and locked his legs, watching the executioner holding Nina throw her body like a lifeless doll onto the block. The noise surrounding him was deafening. The big winged one behind her took a large, meaty hand and pushed the girl's hair from her long, slender neck. The other, lifted the axe high into the air, it's sharp edge glinting against a background of amazingly blue sky.

If he was going to die anyways, he would go down fighting.

The dragon gripped the tree harder, prepared to push off and spring onto-

Suddenly, the Kaiser laughed a laugh tearing through his skull so loud, so chilling, it penetrated the very marrow of Ryu's bones.

**She accepted me, half-breed.**

* * *

Nina was in a state of fear she did not believe possible.

She could hear _everything _going on around her. The screams, the insults, the cheering for her death...her father's murmurings...

He was praying to the Goddess while carrying her. Nina had never once in her life heard him say anything unto her more than the prayers all Wyndians were made to memorize and recite while worshiping. He prayed for the beautiful deity to not take his daughter's soul, that he was sorry for everything he had ever done, just please, _please _save her. She could feel his short, quick breaths, his heart slamming against his ribs. She couldn't move, couldn't say anything, couldn't open her eyes.

Dread swam tumultuous laps inside of her stomach when she was handed over to someone that gripped her with big, thick hands and smelled nauseatingly of of booze and sweat. She felt her father's hand linger, squeezing her arm in a way she supposed meant for her to forgive him, that this was goodbye.

Goodbye.

She felt her body slam against a rough, circular stone.

Goodbye to this world, goodbye to everyone she loved.

Rough hands moved her heavy, matted hair away from her neck.

This couldn't really be happening...! She didn't want to die!

**You don't have to.**

She...didn't?

The Kaiser floated before her closed eyelids, his glowing crimson stare burning desperate hope into her. **I promise I won't let anyone hurt you, Keeper. **

_You...can do that...? _Inhibitions were long gone.

He ran a long, thin black claw down the side of her face. **No one will ever hurt you again. **

Shadows wrapped around her reason, and broke the last threads holding it together.

* * *

The crowd roared as the axe came down, anticipating the exact moment the blade would slice through the demon's neck and let loose its cursed blood all over the place.

What they were not expecting, however, was the blade to hit her neck, bounce back off in a flurry of sparks, and bury itself deep into the executioner's own forehead.

He flailed back, blood arching out of his wound in spurts, and fell heavily onto a group of warriors, taking them all to the ground with his bulk.

A gasping hush swept over the crowd as they all watched, frozen in awe, the Angel of Death open her eyes, and slowly pull herself to her feet. Behind her, the other unarmed executioner scrambled back. Warriors readied their weapons. She stood, shackled and hunched over against the sunlight, long bangs caked with gray matter covering her eyes, barely clothed in a rag that was once the most beautiful thing she had ever worn.

And she laughed.

It was low at first, muffled by her mangy hair, but then she reached up, shackles clinking heavily together, and flung it back, staring back at the gaping audience with bright crimson eyes, mouth wide open in a guffaw that curdled every listener's blood. She raised her wrists over her head and pulled apart the metal holding them together effortlessly. Screams erupted from the crowd as she continued to break off her chains, laughing hysterically. The warriors around her inched cautiously closer, barking out commands to each other.

"These chains...these chains can't stop a _god_!" Nina cried through laughter, pulling the last shackle from her wings and spreading them open into the sky, a ominous dark cloud looming amongst the bright white ones.

To her right, one woren took a deep breath and barreled towards her, thrusting out a pole arm aimed for her gut. She barely glanced at it before sidestepping to get in line with the momentum of the woren's body, smiling a large, toothy smile when he unintentionally came nose to nose with her. His wide green eyes cowered at the burning intensity of her flaring embers. He didn't have time to utter a noise before a bone shot out of one of her arms, covered in black scales, and pierced through his heart. She watched his focus fade and retracted the blood soaked bone. He became a heap on the ground.

A wolfman roared and sprang at her from the other side, but instead of his jaws clamping on the soft flesh of her throat like he had intended, his teeth shattered on a thick layer of onyx scales appearing to protect it. He let go of her and staggered back, hands flying to his injured mouth. She was there in an instant, grabbing his hands with impossible strength and forcing them to his sides, brandishing her own pair of fangs for him to see. The young wolf gulped and those fangs latched onto his neck; succeeding where his had failed. The crazed Wyndian snapped her head back and let herself bathe in the warm blood spraying from his wound.

Now the crowd was in total chaos, screaming and fighting to get the hell away from the beast. Warriors jumped to their leaders, their highest priority to keep them safe. Nina tossed the wolf carelessly away and dropped down on all fours, blood splattered face searching for her next attacker.

The King hid behind a battle ready Ethan, shaking uncontrollably. This wasn't his daughter at all, this was a _monster_! "Kill it, Von Buren! You have to..."

The air shifted, and Nina cocked her head, curiously watching a tornado of glittering sand appear in front of her. The sand hadn't finished fading before a beam of light pierced through it. Nina's quick eyes followed and she stepped out of its path nimbly, nostrils flaring. "We can't let you do as you please, demon."

She smirked. "Try and stop me, Talbot."

Glittering dust cleared, and Prince Vahn's adviser came into view. His glasses slipped down his nose and he pushed them back up with the finger wielding his magical ring against narrowed blue eyes. "I have every intention of doing so," he said. The jewelry flashed. Another beam fired. Nina dodged again.

"You don't get it, do you?" She chuckled, her shadow on the ground sucking in the shadows of the chopping block, the warriors around her, the mage's own, and molding into one that pulled her into its depths and out of sight.

Nichol quickly warped to the other side of the chopping block. No sooner did he appear, he was knocked backwards hard onto the ground. The invisible demon pinned both of his arms to the stone, clutched his neck like a vice. Nichol wheezed under the pressure, eyes bulging, frantically trying to see her above him. There was nothing, only his other senses screaming at him that she was indeed there.

The hand on his neck pushed down harder. "He was right, I _won't _be hurt ever again, because no one can contend!" Nina's mocking voice floated down. Nichol grit his teeth against the pain and struggled underneath her weight. He thought Wyndians were supposed to be _light_!

The warriors surrounding them all watched the spectacle, listening to her insane laughs flitting through the air, weapons trembling in their hands.

"Von Buren! I gave you an order!" Ethan swallowed hard and nodded at the king, taking his blades from their sheaths and walking forward.

"Let's hear what sound _you_ make when you perish, mage," Nichol's eyes widened under crooked spectacles into the sky at where he thought her face probably was.

Nina watched all the blood drain from her prey's face, heart pounding. She was going to feel it again. The feeling of a soul departing a body by her hand. The feeling of complete and utter dominance over someone. She was a god, she was never going to be stopped, she-

_"Fai'en, this is not your way."_

Tiny, transparent hands wrapped around the arm she was using to crush the young mage's neck. The embers in Nina's eyes burned through her thick bangs. "What do _you _want, boy?" she snarled.

Nichol's brow furrowed. She was speaking in a different language now.

_"You don't enjoy killing...he's only making you think you do..."_ Child Ryu shook his head with a pity that angered her.

"Go away!" Nina cried, shooting a bone spike from her clawed hand through his ghostly form, watching it pass through him and pierce into the ground right next to Nichol's head.

_"Try to remember who you are; I know how difficult it is..."_

"Who I am? I'm _your god _that's what I am! All of these lowly creatures should be _groveling_ before me...begging for my hand not to smite them for their ignorance! Why can't you see that?"

Arms suddenly wrapped around her from behind and pinned both of hers to her sides. Her hand left Nichol's neck, and the mage's chest heaved underneath her as his lungs took in precious air. She whipped her head back. How could someone grab her while she was in the shadow realm-?

Her eyes fell on Ryu -the _real_ Ryu's- face staring at her through his own dirt caked bangs. "You can't lose yourself, Fai'en!" he cried, tightening his grip on her when she started to struggle. "His madness is hard to break...I know..."

Nichol stared up, listening to the strange conversation being held. Was she talking to the other one that could hide in the shadows? The blue-haired creature? Either way, they both were both distracted, if he could only find a way to-

"Madness? What madness? You think this is _madness?_" Nina laughed in the dragon's face. She grabbed onto the mage's side with one of her pinned down hands and shot a bolt of electricity through his body. Nichol convulsed violently underneath her, eyes rolling back into his head, his mouth wide open and frothing. "This is what I've always wanted! Look, I chose his fate! _I _had the say in whether he lived or died! It's...It's..."

"I know you think you enjoy it, that it's ecstasy taking their lives...but its not how you feel, it's him! You _must_ remember yourself, Fai'en!"

Nichol's body stopped convulsing, and relaxed beneath her with the last breath he would ever take.

"Show yourself, demon!"

Nina's attention snapped up to see Ethan stepping towards her, swords ready, dark eyes darting about.

Demon? Ethan just called her a...demon?

The red splotches painted over her reason began to fade, and the pieces of reality came crashing back into place. She remembered the face of the woren when her spike went through his heart, the wolf's teeth shattered and bloody, Nichol's eyes, blue as the heavens, widening as she...

Her gaze went slowly down and took in the adviser's once handsome face now frozen in a state of unimaginable horror beneath glasses melted to his skin, smoke curling from his still smoldering hair.

Shadows fell away from her, and all could see the Raven Princess sitting atop the dead mage's smoking body, face angled towards the sky. Ethan sprang forward, and Nina let loose a scream dwarfing the chaos swirling around them.

* * *

The ground shook violently. People grabbed onto anything and anyone they could. Ethan stumbled back from rocks jutting out of the ground at him. The large stone platform they were on cracked apart around Nina. All around, soldiers were plummeting to their death. He spread his wings and took to the air, tearing his eyes away from the screaming, blood soaked demon Wyndian to look about the debris for the king. He breathed out in relief when he saw two Wyndian soldiers flying to safety with their Liege. He gripped his swords tighter in his hands, sweat beading on his forehead. Now to deal with-

White, fluffy clouds bubbled and bulged unnaturally above him in the crisp, blue sky, drawing his eye to witness something that made him drop one of his swords completely unnoticed to the ground.

The sky opened up, and from it, descended a tremendous white dragon, beating wings stretching a shadow over the entire grounds. Its scales glittered blindingly bright against the sunlight.

All of the screaming stopped. Everyone who was running stopped. Each person turned around to see something that was not supposed to exist drop down onto the platform next to the Angel of Death, its great head arching in the air and claws digging into the stone. Its gigantic, glimmering wings beat once and settled comfortably on its diamond-like back.

Ryu held onto Nina in the shadow of the beast, staring up at it with an awe he could not hide. Nina stopped screaming at once and broke free of his hold like he was a child, throwing him effortlessly back, and ran to hug the sparkling, horned head coming down to meet her. "Take me away from here!" she cried, tears flowing, grabbing onto the dragon's long snout. "I'm too scared to be here any longer...!"

The white dragon nuzzled against her, making a soft, whining noise of affection, and took her into one of its shining claws. Ryu latched onto the dragon's leg when it spread its wings again and started beating them hard against the air. The force knocked the front half of the audience flat, including the wall of Iron Ox men.

All of the leaders stared at the scene through their magical shield in wonder - not even Kishma having the guts to stand up to something as powerful and ancient as a dragon - watching the majestic beast lift itself from the platform, stone crumbling from its shining, silver claws, and soar over the walls of the city.

Ethan's sharp eyes followed the streak of glistening white scales tearing through Wyndia's fields of flowers towards one of the magical forests, mouth hanging open.

A dragon? There was a real, live _dragon_ in this world?

He took a deep, shivering breath and found himself unable to control the sides of his mouth rising into a grin.

How interesting.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry this took so long, I wanted it to be perfect! Thanks so much for the compliments on my art =) I was an artist waaay before I ever thought I could write. One day I would love to do a comic of this story...but it would take forever and I'm not sure if I could actually put into pictures just how badass I think Ryu really is...it's much easier for me to write it out =) Again, like always, thank you for the awesome reviews! I love all of my regulars =) If I could, I would give you all cookies IRL.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

_Something Like the Kaiser is Too Dangerous to Exist_

Ryu clung to long, glimmering scaled spikes jutting out from the dragon's enormous shin, eyes squinted and streaming tears from gales the great beast's incredible speed threw at him. Below, field after field of wildflowers blurred together into one indistinguishable color. He fought against screaming winds to chance a blurry look over at the claw he knew held Nina. It was closed now, most likely for her protection.

Her protection.

Inwardly, he laughed at the notion. Anything benevolent stemming from the Kaiser's influence baffled the hell out of him.

Yet here this thing was, a giant, shining, flying beacon of hope, swooping down from beyond to save them both, even if it may only have intended on doing so for one. The only question now was, where was it heading?

He nearly lost his grip when the dragon suddenly faltered as if one of its colossal wings were injured. It roared and tipped far to the side, vigorously flapping the other wing a few times and turning ground into sky for the smaller dragon. All thoughts other than to hold on for dear life, fled his mind instantly. The beast's unoccupied foot plunged into the foliage of a forest that met them impossibly fast, followed by the rest of its massive body crashing on through. Ryu threw an arm in front of him. It did little to deter the onslaught of branches and vines whipping his flesh and tearing at his cloak on the way down. The entire forest shook with the giant reptile's impact and again when it slid forward and rammed hard into a tree trunk miraculously larger than it.

Ryu awoke to a face full of dirt, and the sounds of many small objects raining down on something hard above him, rolling, and thudding to the ground. He pulled himself up on arms made of jelly and spat out mouthfuls of bitter, gritty soil, blinking through more of it and glanced warily around. Somehow, he ended up safe underneath the dragon's awkwardly hunched mountain of a body. He clutched his aching head and relaxed against its knee, only to jump forward with a yelp. Spikes. He eyed them incredulously for a moment, marveling at his his luck in not getting skewered; some of them were embedded deep into the ground mere inches from where he was taking a dirt nap. He wiped his face on his arm, smearing blood across bandages from the many cuts across his nose and cheeks. Dirt seared his wounds like fire. With a wince, he turned back around and saw the reason the dragon was in such an awkward position.

It was shielding the claw holding Nina.

Ryu whistled. There was that laughable concept again. He climbed shakily to his feet. She must have passed out -he felt evidence of that in every limb - and severed her mental link with the beast. It was completely dormant now; not even movement to signal breathing. He walked to the clasped claw underneath its breast and grasped one of the silvery talons with both of his hands, bracing his foot against the joint for leverage. With a great deal of effort and a few choice words, he pried it open to reveal Nina curled up into a ball in its shining palm, strange black wings wrapped around her in a feathery ward. He scooped up her almost weightless body easily, and walked out from underneath the dragon. He turned to take a full look at their savior.

All the trees in this forest were remarkably tall with many, many branches sprouting thick clumps of leaves, flowers, and hanging vines that crisscrossed and created a ceiling of greenery blotting out most of the sun's light from its depths, but the crash had busted open a window to the sky. All the sun's glory seemed to focus through it into one single ray, shining down upon the beast's diamond body as though it were a fallen deity depicted in a painting. The air around it sparkled, shimmered, emitted a glow inspiring feelings of serenity and nostalgia inside of Ryu that astounded him.

He had seen this dragon before, but..._where_?

Just when he felt he was getting unwillingly lost in overwhelming artistry, the creature suddenly caved in on itself, its scales and bones becoming thousands of diamond flakes that seeped to the ground like sand and melted into it like snow. He shook his head briskly to try and cast the spell of odd familiarity away. Only pieces of small, round, red fruit their crash jostled from the larger than life tree before them, were left decorating the black dirt crater when he looked again.

Nina stirred in his arms, grabbing onto his cloak and attention, but did not wake. With a cautious hand, Ryu moved matted hair from her face and gently lifted her top lip. No fangs. A dark line appeared between his heavy brows. He distinctly remembered the Kaiser saying she had accepted him, yet here she was, the black wings on her back the only remnant of his contract. So he was not able to fully control her either. Served him right.

Soft skittering noises suddenly erupted from all around him. His eyes flickered down to a piece of "fruit" at his feet splitting open and sprouting eight dark, spindley, gooey insect legs from inside of its center, followed by two mismatched, spiky snapping crab claws. Ryu sighed, watching the probably hundred or so fruit/crab/spider things surround him slowly, waving their pincers in the air and clicking menacingly at him. In an even further radius, red eyes shined in every dark thicket, the animals they belonged to growled ferocious warnings to the new predator so callously barging into their home unannounced. Ryu hoisted Nina up over his right shoulder and grit his teeth as a bone tore out of his left arm, curved up and out into a short "blade" and finished with a coat of blood red scales rippling over it.

This was not going to be a very enjoyable camping trip.

* * *

"There's no way... I find it... I can't possibly believe..." Chieftess Kishma Bloodclaw was, for once, at a loss for words. She fell back against her chair, biting at her thumb, mimicking what all the other leaders around her were doing: Replaying the image of the dragon descending from the clouds over and over in their minds.

At the head of the long, dark wood table they all sat at in Wyndia's tactics room, against a life-sized self portrait of better days, the King of Wyndia melted into his soft, crimson cushioned royal chair. He wanted to disappear from the world.

Nina was a monster now and they all knew it. A monster he failed to execute. It was lucky something like a dragon was distracting attention, his head should have been on a spike hours ago like that high strung highlander had suggested before he and his posse stormed out of the castle gates earlier. He grasped the arms of his chair with trembling, sweaty hands. Ethan stared down at him.

"I don't understand," Bowe finally broke the silence, scratching his head. "The 'monster as black as night'...means a giant, white dragon?"

"It probably meant _him._"

Everyone, even nervous Isaac, turned their attention towards Prince Vahn. The young human dropped his late adviser's ring onto the table and spun it in front of his lowered face. Kishma raised her eyebrows at him. He hadn't said much since he hopped onto the broken rubble of the execution grounds and pried the magical jewelry off of Nichol's blackened, rigid hand. "Who? The creature my men were chasing after? You think he had something to do with the white dragon?"

"Yes, the shadow boy you and the rest of them _failed _to subdue." Kishma bristled. Bowe growled. Ethan stiffened. Vahn remained engrossed in the ring's spinning. "I _do _think he had something to do with it. I think he had something to do with a lot of things..., but no offense, if he's really the monster of prophecy, how could your men have hoped to stand a chance?" he asked, waving his hand nonchalantly.

"He _had _to have been... had anyone else sensed anything like him before?" Marduke of the Iron Ox clan's deep voice boomed before Kishma could retort. His dark eyes were curious pools of ink glancing around the table. "I haven't, nor have I heard of anyone with the ability to hide in broad daylight like that."

"I know _exactly_ what des garcon ombre eez," Jaquarde cut in, snapping at a handmaiden carrying a platter of wine glasses with webbed fingers. "Another drink, sil vous plait, mademoiselle." All eyes were on the frog king when he picked a glass from her collection and took a thoughtful sip. "a draconian taboo."

Suuki sat quietly, violet eyes wide. The Shydian woman frowned. Kishma and the rest looked confused. "Taboo? What do you speak of, DuMontag?" the woren asked.

"I don't expect you, from zee East to know much about zee dragon clans, as they have been long washed from zee world centuries ago, but they were neighbors to my ancestors. Et eez only natural my people would keep tabs on, yes?" He took another sip of wine. "Let us just say, zee situation might a little sticker than we first thought."

Ethan's fingers twitched by the hilt of his swords. This guy was getting more interesting by the second.

"So contact the AG. I'll go with them. He killed my best man," Vahn said, slamming his palm on the table on top of the ring.

"_She _killed him, I saw her," Kishma insisted, but Vahn shook his head.

"He was forced to retreat from Nichol back in Ludia during my...wedding. I think the bastard used her for revenge, and he's got another thing coming if he thinks I'm going to let him get away with it."

Behind him, a short, chubby, frazzled looking man scurried up worriedly. "Sire, I do not believe your father would approve of such a thing..." He had come to this execution to act as the Ludian council's witness, but now that Nichol was gone, it was his turn to step up and control his brash prince.

Vahn glared at him. The stocky old man shrunk back. "What would you like me to do? I very well can't send _you _now can I?"

There was a beeping noise, and Ethan bowed sharply. "Excuse me, the scouts are reporting back." He walked out of the room and shut the door behind him.

"Prince Vahn, I _implore _you."

"The man is barely coherent, how's he going to find out?"

"As soon as the shadow man and...Nina," Issac cringed at his own daughter's name leaving his lips, "are found, I'm sending Sir Von Buren to take care of everything," the king of Wyndia lifted his head and spoke wearily. "It is Wyndia's fault this happened, and it will be Wyndia that will remedy it. There's no need for you to put your life in danger."

"Tch, _him_?" Vahn jutted a thumb towards the door. "How am I supposed to believe someone like him is a better choice than the damn AG? Oh, and don't any of you look at me like that. Don't you _dare_ say you don't deal with them because you _do._" He cast a scrutinizing eye around the table.

"_I _don't deal with them. I trust that organization as far as I could throw Ironsides," Bowe muttered.

"Neither do I. Its a wonder some of them are allowed to walk freely amongst the public," Kishma grunted.

"Even if some of the AG members aren't reputable, Jaxx Roman is," said Issac, "Von Buren spent seven years under that legendary man. That should speak for itself."

Vahn tapped his fingers on the table. "Wait a minute, Von Buren...," he snapped them. "Oh, I remember now, wasn't he the one who got rid of Zeth Alabaster for me four years ago? Sorry, didn't recognize. He didn't show up to my door in this country's gaudy getup back then."

"Rumor has it, the AG took Alabaster in instead of killing him. A man with the souls of gods forsaken _mass murderers _inside of him...," grumbled Bowe, "This legendary man lets something like _that _happen."

The Shydian woman sat back in her chair and crossed her tanned, shapely legs, fanning herself with her gorgeous fan, drinking everything into her emerald eyes.

"The AG takes in persons with abilities far superior to others and keeps them in check," Ethan said, walking back into the room, ignoring everyone's hardened stares. "It would have been a waste...to kill one like Zeth. Jaxx knew it as well as I did."

"But, Zeth eez not a dragon, no?"

There was a long pause to consider this.

Ethan furrowed his brows irritably and cleared his throat. "Sire, scouts have informed me the white dragon did indeed crash into the heart of No Mans forest." His king looked up. "However, they aren't having any luck locating the beast." He lifted his wrist and pressed a few buttons on his communicator. "I suggest having aerial units as well as ground patrolling the outskirts of the forest towards the Grassland Regions. I highly doubt they would go anywhere near Ludia or Wyndia for awhile."

Kishma stood suddenly, motioning to what was left of her guardians. Bowe followed suit. "Come, it's time to leave. Worent and Tantar have much preparing to do."

"Now wait just a minute, I said I had this under control-"

The woren stopped Issac with nothing but her razor sharp eyes. "The Raven Princess is heading into _my_ country. What kind of leader would I be if I didn't stand by my people? I will not sit lazily on my rump in a foreign land and simply hope for the best," she spat, making her way to the door. "Also," she said stopping with her hand on the knob, "I will not be waiting around for another public execution, if I see her, she's dead. Proof will be gladly provided."

The rest of the leaders trickled out after her, all giving similar excuses and threats, except the Shydian woman who merely shook her head disappointingly at Issac as she passed, and Vahn, who was too busy muttering to himself about turning the dragon into a 'hole riddled hunk of meat' to make any comment to him.

The moment the door closed, Issac's forehead hit the table. His crown rolled off his head and clanged loudly onto the floor. "Sire-!" Ethan cried, but was stopped by a palm.

"I just want some quiet," a small, scared voice came from inside the pile of crimson robes.

"As you wish," said Ethan, bowing. He walked to the other side of the room where three tall windows conjoined together into a nub jutting out from the front of the castle. He peered out across the fields at No Mans forest, found his hands again gravitating to his swords.

This taboo was going to be all sorts of fun.

* * *

For days Nina wandered, lost in dreams manipulated by the twisted nature of her own mind for a change, rather than its nefarious roommate's.

She walked endlessly forward through a world of fog, eyes obsessively focused on Ethan standing before her, flashing a dazzling smile she just _knew _was meant only for her across his pale, handsome face. He reached out to her, beckoned, called her "Nina" in that voice she adored, craved...

She tried, oh gods did she try to reach for that hand, but it was always, _always_, just beyond her fingertips. He curled his own forward, entangling her heartstrings tighter into their grasp.

She could reach him if that damned tiger with the bleeding hole in his chest would stop grabbing at her ankles or that wolf, with its throat gushing blood, would quit gnawing on one of her arms with broken, bloody teeth. She kicked at the tiger, elbowed the wolf away, turned back to her red haired angel.

Ethan's smile was salvation. He was her best friend, her love! She needed him, he was the only one that could help her atone! Being in his arms would make all the horrible things she had done acceptable, she _had_ to believe it!

They latched onto her again, the wolf and tiger that were supposed to be dead, both moaning ghoulishly. Nichol slithered in too, showing her again what his agonized, frothing face looked like the moment she shocked the life from him. A roar sounded in the near distance and the deceased, beefy Wyndian executioner shouldered his way through the rolling fog, bursting out of it and matching her pace beside her, grasping the handle of the axe embedded deep in his skull with gigantic hands. He looked over at her and made a wet, growling noise like a rabid dog.

Why wouldn't they leave her alone? Didn't they know she didn't mean to kill them?

Child Ryu made an appearance once. He planted himself between her and Ethan like a tree, crossing his arms, angling a look of supreme disappointment up at her. She didn't give him much of a glance, until she placed a hand on his shoulder and proceeded to shove him- nowhere; he was a rock! Unnerving pale eyes bore into her through wild bangs, past her clothes, her skin, straight...into her soul. "Come to terms with the consequences of slaying them _yourself_, Fai'en," he said with the firmness of a man three times his age, locking her stare of the same caliber. "No one man holds the key to your eternal salvation."

Anger torrented inside of her. Who did this little punk think he was? He didn't know her, and he sure as hell didn't know Ethan! The wolf was back again, snapping at her feet, dumping more blood on her and making an awful bubbling racket through his open throat. "You don't know what you're talking about," she snapped, kicking at the wolf's mangled jaws. "Mind your own business!" Nichol staggered forward, his melted glasses sliding down his face, leaving a thin trail of black goo on his burning skin. She shoved him back into the fog. The axe cocked along with the executioner's head when he put it to one side and gave her a curious look. Two long, gurgling moans struggled past what sounded like an inch thick wall of phlegm as he leaned forward at her slowly, blood oozing out of the wound in his forehead and running down his face in two tiny rivers. She could hear it fall in little _pitter patter _patterns on whatever hard flat surface they were standing on. The zombie-like Wyndian sputtered something incoherent and turned to stumble after Nichol through the fog and out of sight.

Little Ryu didn't move, didn't look away from her.

Nina grit her teeth together, hesitatingly meeting his eyes again. "I said, mind. your. own. business!"

Finally, he dropped her gaze to close those eyes that made her feel more naked than she had ever felt, inside and out, and shook his head. "You are a child," he murmured, his tone clashing with the adolescence his voice carried. "A good soul, but a child, nonetheless. It is a wonder the Kaiser is having trouble consuming you."

"Me? _You're _calling _me_ a child?"

The eyes went to her again. Ice rolled down her spine. "I am not insulting you. I am simply telling the truth. I only fear your good nature is not going to be enough, if you lack the maturity to handle the consequences your actions may invoke as the Keeper."

Nina stood, blinking at this little boy standing there, scolding her like he was her father. She didn't know what to say. All she wanted him to do was move out of the damn way so she could get to Ethan...

"You thinking you need the love of this man to help you wipe your slate clean is a ludicrous piece of proof in itself."

"I-" Nina blurted but was stopped by another maddeningly frustrating parental shake of his head.

"No one man can be responsible for your deliverance, Fai'en," he repeated, fog coming forward and taking him from her view. "You have to learn to walk on your own."

Nina looked up at Ethan, stared at a smile promising security while the wolf, tiger and Nichol lurched at her again, slinging blood -if they could- from their horrendous, irreversible wounds. Trembling hands made fists at her sides. In the background, the executioner's long moans rattled her bones.

Herself? She didn't know the first damn thing about relying on herself.

* * *

Lissa sat down at her vanity, humming a tune she'd just heard on the radio, and pulled two large white ribbons from her hair. Platinum ringlets fell loose to barely graze her shoulders. She licked her finger and touched it to her eyelids. Instantly, the bright green eyeshadow on them vanished. She picked up a brush and started running it through her curls. "I can't live without yooo~oou, you know it's truuuue..." Her humming morphed into singing. She grasped the brush in her hands like a microphone.

"Baby, you gotta know I love yooooouuu-ahh!"

She fell backwards off her seat when Prince Vahn suddenly warped into her room beside her.

"Get dressed," he ordered, eying his distant cousin's overly frilled, long sleeved, pink night gown.

She clutched her head and stood as quickly as she could. "V-vahn! What are you doing warping in here like that?" she cried, the hand with the brush over her heart. She took a few deep breaths and then widened her eyes at him. "Hey, I heard the Wyndian went crazy and killed Nichol! Is that _true_?"

"Are you deaf, girl? Get dressed, _now_."

"Eh?" she caught a ring he tossed at her.

"Put on that ring afterward and find me in the courtyard."

He was nothing more than glitter in the wind when she opened her mouth to speak again. She held the jewelry up into the flickering candlelight of a crescent moon shaped candle on her vanity. The band was gold, with a large round green stone centered on it. In the light, she could make out many thin trails of a pearly looking substance swirling throughout the stone, making odd shapes that teased her eye by seemingly moving whenever she happened to look away. A tingling feeling shot through her fingers and she almost dropped it. She quickly put Nichol's ring on the vanity and backed away.

Keeping her gaze from it, she hastily threw off her nightgown.

* * *

What...was that heavenly smell?

The sound of crackling fire and boiling water pricked Nina's ears. Tantalizing aromas of fish and vegetables like carrots and onions wafted into her nostrils next. She sat up slowly, mechanically, from beneath a large cloth, ignoring the complaints her aching muscles groaned at her. She heard chain mail, felt it on her skin. She ignored that as well and sniffed in more of the delicious scents, mouth watering and stomach quivering painfully in anticipation of anything edible.

"And so the dead rise again," a familiar male voice spoke.

She forced open heavy eyelids. First, all she saw was the flaring bright orange of a fire, but as she blinked and her eyes got used to the lighting, she made out Ryu sitting hunched over what looked like a soldier's helmet of some sort on a small campfire, stirring steaming, bubbling liquid with a dagger. Two sticks with small, charred fish on them picketed the ground near him. He reached a bloody bandaged arm over and pulled one up, held it out for her to take. "Eat. You'll need your strength." His voice was rough, unused. She didn't take a second to think twice. In four quick, huge bites, the fish was gone; she wasn't even squeamish about the head. She swallowed and set the stick and picked clean bones down beside her, licking every bit possible from her fingers and lips. Her stomach rumbled in content. It was bland, but the didn't care; it felt like she hadn't eaten in years. "Soup will be ready in a minute," Ryu said, the side of his mouth lifting ever so slightly with the hint of a smile. "You need vegetables and water too."

Nina sat back against a hard rock wall behind her, trying to clear the thick webs her strange dreams had woven throughout her mind. The last thing she really remembered was the chopping block, and lots..._lots _of screaming and now she was- Her eyes went up, around. Firelight bounced off of dark gray rocks everywhere, the ceiling, the walls. They were in a cave, she concluded, and by the looks of it, far in; only blackness on either side of them, no wind.

So Ryu saved her, and she was in a cave? She started to ask him about it when she felt metal pinch her skin when she leaned forward. Her eyes went down, and firelight reflected back at her on the parts of her new chain mail tunic that weren't rusted and covered in what she hoped was not but knew probably was dried blood. Further down, tattered, baggy beige pants met her along with leather boots that were probably three times too large and looked as though they had been involved in a tug of war fight between a tiger and a bear. A few toes with chipped rose polish on them peeked at her through a large hole in one.

Ryu looked up from the rolling boil of the soup to see her glaring at him. He snorted when it dawned on him after she gestured to her new getup. "Don't look at me like that, I told you before I don't condone that sort of violence. Especially with a _winged one_," he scoffed, chin high in the air. She didn't look convinced. He pointed to a pile of rags on the floor near her. "You see that? _That's _what you were wearing." He picked up her wedding dress and rolled it out in front of her. The fabric was grossly molded into a sickly green color, and was torn to pieces. "Chain mail look more appealing now?"

"You just...you..." she swallowed hard, face hot, "you could have waited until I woke up..." she stuttered angrily, staring at the lump of disgusting fabric. How _dare _he! How long did he look? What did he see? He was lying, what the hell did he _do_?

He laughed mockingly and her face grew even hotter. "You throw an axe into a man's face, snap open a wolf's throat with your own jaws and you're more worried where my eyes have been?" he mused haughtily, "Do not flatter yourself, Fai'en."

"Well what do you expect me to believe when I wake up and I'm in different clothes and I'm- wait...'snap open a wolf's throat with my own jaws'?" Nina trailed off, blinking at him. As soon as she said it, an image of a furry, gray throat opening up in front of her flashed into view, along with a flood of warm, salty blood and a string of other memories the broom of reality swept loose when it cruelly knocked away the webs cluttering her thoughts. "Oh gods...," she whispered, hands shaking and dropping to her sides. She felt the cold, hard ground beneath her suck her stomach to it like a hunk of metal to a magnet.

Ryu doing something lewd to her was meaningless. She was a murderer, plain and simple. She remembered that all too clearly now. "Oh gods, I...I really _killed _them, didn't I?" Her hands went to her stomach, the fish was climbing back up.

Ryu continued stirring, his eyes two blazing yellow gems in the firelight. "Before you get too upset, take solace in the fact they were all soldiers."

Nina bit one of her fingernails down to the quick in seconds. Beads of blood bubbled up and dribbled down her lips. She ignored it. Nichol...the same Nichol she was talking to Chasta about just days before; the 'young, attractive adviser.' Well, he definitely wasn't anymore, not with those bright blue eyes melting down his cheeks. "How..." she murmured, tongue swollen and dry in her mouth. "does one...take...'solace' in something so...so..."

"Soldiers know when they enlist, they may give their life in the line of duty. It was truly an unfortunate day for the four of them."

Nina chewed on the inside of her lip.

Ryu took the knife out of the soup and laid it on the ground. He grabbed another helmet, lifting the one he was cooking in with his bare hands, and divided the contents. "All the bodies I've found around here carry only armor, no utensils. You'll have to drink straight from the helm."

Nina made no move for the steaming helmet when he set it near her. Her eyes were glued to the sizzling fire, her mouth continuing its relentless assault on her finger. Ryu looked down at his own throbbing digit. It was streaming blood as well. He stuck it into his mouth. "It's okay to defend yourself against people who try to kill you, you know," he said nursing the wound. "And they _were _aiming to." She still didn't acknowledge him or the soup. "Besides, that mage's days were numbered. I was planning on getting rid of him when we met next. You saved me the trouble." The comment soared right over her head. He sighed and reached to pull her finger to safety. Finally, her attention was his.

She looked a mess. Inside and out. Before clothing her in armor he found on a beheaded soldier hanging upside down tangled in vines from a tree, he had tried to rinse them both off in a river. There was no sense in her keeping on that rag filled with whatever germs gave them a fever earlier, and she and he both were covered in so much blood, he was afraid they would attract unwanted guests in their sleep. He looked at her hair, falling over the side of her face and her shoulders in thick, frizzed waves shining dully in the firelight. He remembered what a pain it was to try and comb the sticks and clumps of dirt from the mass; a pain to the point where he had almost chopped it all off, but thought better of it, assuming maybe she didn't need any more shocks for awhile. The eye he could see was exhausted, the skin underneath bruised with the neglect of nutrition and a good night's sleep. Her skin was sickly pale, she was on the verge of gaunt. "Listen Fai'en," his voice softened as he stared at the suffering and fear radiating in that one amber eye. "Remember always that it was the Kaiser, and _not_ you."

"The...Kaiser..." her lips formed the words slowly, painfully, as if merely speaking them would bring the devil back to play.

Ryu gave her back her hand. He was sure she had forgotten about it. "Within him, lies only despair," he said, watching her bring the hand back to her mouth and start on another fingernail, tears trickling down her cheeks.

"I...I...there was no...other choice..." She blinked her eyes hard. Her wings behind her were two shaking black bushes in a storm.

Ryu slid the soup towards her. His stomach gurgled loudly. It didn't matter how much he ate, if she was running on empty, he was too. Food _did_ stop the pains, but only for a little while, and he didn't have the luxury in this wilderness to be constantly stuffing his face. "I know eating is the last thing you might want to think about right now...but, If you don't mind, my stomach and I would greatly appreciate it if you would make an effort to eat something more than that bit of fish."

Nina looked from him, to the soup. Yes, she was hungry, _ravenous _even, but all she could think about was the fact that she was here, alive, able to be faced with the problem of whether or not to eat, while the ones she killed...

Ryu sighed, took the helmet off the fire with his bare hands, and turned away from her to scarf it down. "Guess I'll just go hunting again for the _twentieth_ time today...," he murmured agitatedly between slurps. She stared fixedly at a red and white whole mushroom cap bobbing on the surface of her portion.

She didn't deserve to live. What right did she have to end their existence? To save hers? So what! It was selfish, it was cruel... Those men...someone's father, someone's brother, son...

Her eye hovered to the wet dagger on the ground near the fire, then to Ryu's back.

He would die, but if she didn't do it, there would be so many more. More than she could handle.

What if the next time it was Ethan? or Chasta? Heaven forbid, what if it was Isabella?

Gods, she couldn't handle it _now_!

She made up her mind. She was going to kill this monster before it ever got loose again.

With surprising determination, her hand darted out and grasped the knife. She pointed the blade to her throat, put both hands on the hilt, angled her head up, closed her eyes and-

A hard slap came across her face. She dropped the knife and looked up to see Ryu's face turned slightly to the opposite side, a small red mark forming on his cheek. He sucked in his breath and bared sharp, angry teeth at her. "You think that's the answer, Fai'en? _Suicide_?" he rasped, tossing the knife he had caught before it hit the ground back behind him. Its clanging again the other wall echoed throughout the cavern. Her wide eyes leaked tears. Her cheek throbbed painfully. She could see his swelling up. "Rather murder-suicide, eh? Or did you forget that little bit?"

"M-my..." she swallowed shakily, "O-our lives ending...w-will save more than it k-kills..." He was so close now, the tip of his furious nose was grazing hers.

"So you just...give up, like that? Take the _coward's _way out and drag me along with you to hell?"

She swallowed hard again, fighting a sickeningly familiar urge to dive inside of his skin. "S-something like the K-Kaiser is t-too dangerous to exist..."

Ryu growled and to her relief sat back away from her, picking up his still steaming helmet with one hand and tipping it up at the side of his mouth. "_Ankra, _Fai'en," he cursed, chomping down on a fish head. "Now you sound like _her._ Anything you don't understand deserves to be removed from this world."

Nina gave him an incredulous look. "But...you...you _did _see what he made me do...right?"

He dropped the empty helmet noisily to the ground and wiped his mouth on his arm. "Yes, I saw. I'm quite aware of his mannerisms."

"Then wouldn't the noble thing be for me to...stop...it, before it hurt anyone else?"

"Yes, but I pray there are less morbid ways to do so. There's a purpose to Drogen if you remember."

Nina pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them close, taking deep breaths to try and calm her vicious trembling. Her pants smelled like dirt, blood. "I can't do it, Ryu..." she whispered, feeling crushed by the weight of those five mens' souls. (She didn't forget about Benjiman.) "I can't live with the fact that I've killed them. I can't-"

"If I can live with the fact I've killed fifty-seven innocent children, not to mention countless other unarmed men and women, you can live with a few soldiers on your conscience, Fai'en," he interrupted gruffly, watching her expression flip to horrific awe. "It's true," he said to that look. By the Goddess he was serious, she could _feel_ it. "You're thinking fifty-seven is an odd number for me to remember? Well I remember them all. Every single Ladondamned one of them. I must. May my torment be some form of justice to them."

Nina stared at him, tried to imagine her pain a hundred, no thousand times over. She couldn't.

Innocents. _Children._

What a damn fool she was.

Her head dropped in shame. She didn't deserve to _look _at him. The fire hissed and spit, she tried hard to concentrate on it. Her cheek still throbbed; she wasn't close to blaming him for it.

"And that is why you must _never _listen to a damn word he says," she heard him say in a lowered, but very firm voice.

"I don't understand...," she choked through the coming of another wave of sobs inside her fortress of hair. "What's his motive? What _is _this Kaiser?"

Ryu didn't answer her for a long time. He got up, started to pace. She could see his shadow roaming back and forth in front of her, dancing steadily across the rocks in the flickering firelight. She wouldn't look up, not yet. After a good sixty or so anxious strides -she nervously counted - he stopped and exhaled loudly. "I suppose it is only fair I tell you what I know, huh?" he said, sounding more like he was talking to himself than to her. He plopped to the ground in front of her. She still didn't look up. He cocked his head at her. "You know, you _should _be ashamed. But I won't deal with you not looking me in the eye."

Nina slowly lifted her head and peered through her hair at him. He was crossing his arms at her, his jaw settling into a stubborn position she was starting to recognize. "I may be a prince, but I am hardly so proud," he said, sliding her soup closer to her. "Now please eat. I'm starting to feel light-headed." Nina's stomach growled in response. She gingerly reached a hand out; she owed him much more than this. "Here, I'll heat it," he said putting a hand on the side of her helmet before she picked it up. The hand was engulfed in glowing, red light, and suddenly the water started to bubble. "Well, you'll have to wait now, but it's better than having it cold." She stared at a large mushroom cap on top bobbing amongst tiny carrots, green onion stems and fish. "Along with harboring a demonic entity, I am also adept at playing with fire. " The bubbling stopped, and she carefully reached in to pick the mushroom out. She took a huge bite. He looked pleased when she swallowed.

"As for the Kaiser," he leaned back against a large boulder and brought his eyes to the ceiling, placing a hand on his stomach. "He is...well he's a rather unfortunate byproduct of the cursed heritage running through my veins."

Nina swallowed another bite of mushroom. 'Unfortunate', what a word. "The Light dragons are...cursed?" she asked, remembering him mentioning his blood before.

He laughed and shook his head. "You don't know very much about dragons, do you?"

"Little to nothing," Nina admitted. It wasn't her fault, Wyndia probably figured there was a slim chance conversations about an extinct race of reptile humanoids would be directed at their princess during social events.

"Well, dragons normally come, excuse me _came_ I guess by now, from one of two clans: Light or Dark. It's when they came from _both_, there was a problem."

She lifted her helmet up and took a sip of soup, chomped down on a few carrots. "He calls you 'half-breed' for a reason then," she said quietly after swallowing.

"And quite lovingly so, I'm sure," Ryu mused, "It is a long story, but all and all, dark dragons were cursed by Ladon for their arrogance, and were thus stripped of their ability to transform into his likeness, becoming stuck forever in a humanoid form such as the one that graces your presence now. Interbreeding became strictly forbidden. Any and all children resulting from it were killed on the spot." Nina watched a cynical smile form. "All except the most dangerous one, of course...

"Royal Light dragons, said to be descendants of Ladon's once mortal bloodline, pass on his memories to their first born generation after generation. In these, the dragon learns how to summon and control god's many faces to protect his people, one of which, I believe now, is the dragon that saved our lives back in Wyndia."

Nina would never forget that dragon. She thought back to its giant diamond head, coming down from stories above to nuzzle against her like a kitten after it had savagely ripped the Kaiser's claws from her will. Its voice, speaking gently into her mind that everything was going to be alright, had been the only thing holding her together.

"Another, is the Kaiser," The smile faded. Nina watched him narrow glowing eyes down at the fire. "He is the very meaning of chaos," he flicked his nose with his thumb. "The mass killing of all the half-bloods happened to prevent something like me from existing. A Dark dragon with the power of Ladon's Kaiser running around inside of him. My blood allows him to do as he pleases; create his own personality! Even steal my likeness..." He spat on the ground. "It's _wrong. _It should be _I _who controls!"

Nina swallowed a mouthful of fish and onions, staring at him. Had his life always been spent running from someone trying to kill him? He certainly looked like it had, and not like any other prince she had ever met. He was young, but hardened like a seasoned soldier, and gave the impression he had been to hell, thought it boring, beat it up a bit out of fun, and then stepped back into the mortal world with no more than a scratch on him. He was the fittest, lithest looking man she had ever seen, but then again, he wasn't a man, he was a dragon. She remembered the vines digging into his armor and throat when she found him underneath Wyndia. It was a scary thought someone else had once been that much stronger than him.

"Were you sealed underneath Wyndia because of the Kaiser?" asked the girl softly, and Ryu immediately quieted. He was silent for so long, Nina thought she had angered him. She reached up and nervously twirled a strand of frizzy hair around a finger. "I've...dealt with him since I was a whelpling, Fai'en," he said, still staring at the fire. "Many unfortunate things have befallen me as a result."

Her wings came forward to wrap around herself and stopped when their dark tips came into view. She drew them back. If she could help it, she was never going to look at them again. "Do you think...someone in Drogen can actually help us?"

He laughed sharply, putting back on his haughty expression. "Don't worry, Fai'en, I will try to get you back to your cushy palace life as quick as I can," he said, getting up and walking over to his knife on the ground. He picked it up and stretched the waist of his pants out. A small sheath was attached to a leather strap across his pelvis. He wasn't about to let her try and kill them both again. "Try to get some real sleep, we have a long ways to go tomorrow and it's near morning already." He laid down against the wall across from her. "I want to be out of this death trap of a forest as soon as we can."

She watched him in shock. There was no way she was going to be able to sleep, was he _crazy_? It was like the off-switch for her mind had been broken off! He put his back to her and curled up. Her heartbeat quickened at the thought of even a few hours alone with her own thoughts. "A-are you...sure you don't want to...ah, talk...some more...?" she blurted and felt pathetic as soon as she did, but she needed something, _anything. _She didn't trust herself to be healthy company.

"We will have plenty of time to talk in the coming weeks of travel," his back gruffly replied.

"But...I'm..." she hiccuped. "I'm...s-scared..." she murmured brokenly, clutching his cloak tight.

She expected something negative, something smart assed to be slung back at her, but he did no such thing. Without a word, he got up, and walked off into the darkness far to her left, towards some muffled, horrible sounding howling noises.

A minute went by. Two minutes. "...Ryu?" her timid voice echoed back at her. Nothing. Terror set in.

This was it, she was alone. He finally got tired of witnessing her flurry of emotions, and left her here to rot along with her sanity. The tears wouldn't stop. She glanced around. She couldn't survive on her own out here, how would she eat? There had to be something sharp, anything would work-

Ryu came padding back into the firelight, shattering her ridiculously dark thoughts, one of his hands full of thin, stringy weeds. He knelt down in front of her. She sniffed and hiccuped at him, tried to take deep breaths between sobs to calm herself down. He picked out four or five strands and put them in her hand. "Dreamroot," he said, "Eat them. You will be asleep within a few minutes." He turned and settled down near the wall again without another word.

Nina looked from his back, to the pale green plants in her hands. What an unpredictable guy. She popped them into her mouth and chewed. Their sour taste puckered her lips. "Th-thank you, Ryu," she said softly after swallowing. "That was...kind of you." He grunted indifferently.

It was hard to tell whether he wanted to sedate her for herself or for him. Either way, she was thankful. She could already feel her body relaxing and her eye lids drooping. She spread Ryu's tattered, torn cloak (was that a different shade of red than earlier?) on the ground and wrapped herself inside of it. Just a few minutes, she told herself over and over in her mind. A few more minutes, and she would be peacefully asleep. "Good night, Ryu," she said softly, trying to ignore the pain throbbing in her heart and concentrate on her numbing limbs.

Ryu closed his eyes, and swallowed the last of his own roots.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

_I Love You. I Always Have and I Always Will._

Ryu on the hunt was horrifyingly fascinating.

Tucked within a patch of thick, tall grass, downwind behind a tree, Nina had a front row seat to the dragon's silent, deadly ritual. She watched him slowly prowl on all fours, watching, waiting with a body like a compressed spring. His prey, a boar-like creature towering over him at least three times in height with long, jagged tusks grunted and chomped on various mushrooms littering the ground, oblivious to the danger creeping steadily behind it. As he prepared to attack, her eyes traced over a thin, hazy, purple line overlaying the dragon's muscular back.

She was now able to "see" Ryu in the shadow realm.

Such knowledge also brought with it the frightening realization she had connected herself that much more with the Kaiser. For sanity's sake, she tried not to dwell on it too much.

Ryu pounced. The Wyndian cringed. She just _knew _he was going to go for the throat again.

When asked the reason for this barbarian-like preference, he had simply replied, "I like the taste of blood. Is there a problem?"

She had nearly spit out the water she was drinking at the time. Of _course_ there was a problem! What kind of respectable person ran around liking _blood_?

To that, he had snorted at her and said, "I do not know why you insist on thinking of me as human. I am not one, nor will I ever be one. Deal with it."

He landed on the giant animal's back between its shoulder blades, grasping tufts of coarse, dark hair in both of his hands for support. It squealed and reared back on its hind legs, whipping its head this way and that, not understanding why it couldn't find its attacker. Ryu shot forward with the precision and speed of a snake, clamped his jaws tight onto the base of the animal's neck and jerked his head hard to the side. There was a sickening _crack_ and the creature went silent. It sagged and shook the ground with its fall.

Nina gripped rough, peeling tree bark with slightly shaking hands.

No, he definitely was _not _human.

He jumped down from the mountain of fur, looking off into the distance, mouth and chin painted with crimson. She followed his gaze deep into the darkness of the forest, relieved he didn't unleash a fountain of blood from the animal's neck like he usually did.

As well as being sensitive to the shadow realm now, her night vision was becoming increasingly, _eerily_ sharp. Everything gave off a thin outline of pulsing light -regardless of how pitch black it might have been-, reminiscent of the shadow world, but not quite the same. She pondered frequently if this was what a feline's vision might be like.

A sickly, mangy looking wolf caught her eye peeking back at them from behind a tree, salivating at the sight of the prize at Ryu's feet. The dragon lifted a giant, muscular leg by the hoof and used one of his self made bone blades to slice it clean off. He hurled it impossibly deep into the almost pitch blackness behind the canine. The mongrel yipped and took of after.

"He's been following us for hours," he said to Nina, flicking his tongue over bloody lips and hoisting the massive boar over his shoulders. "Felt sorry for him." He trudged past her, back in the direction of a clearing they had found near the edge of the only river cutting through the forest. "Come, we should eat fast. He'll most likely be back," he said adding, "...possibly with friends since I've become so soft-hearted these days," treating the words like a bad taste in his mouth.

Nina scowled at his back and followed him down a few hills to a wide, rushing river, were she perched on a fallen tree coated in thick moss near its bank. Ryu dropped the carcass to the ground and took out his knife from his pants. She quickly averted her gaze at the sound of the metal unsheathing; she wasn't too fond of watching him skin his kills. Silver scaled fish with bat wings jumped out of the water in front of her, thankfully turning her attention to their peril as they glided downstream along the current, dodging rocks and carnivorous plants swinging their vines out, hoping to snatch dinner out of midair.

She fanned at her face with her hands, though it did little. A storm had come in the night after she had woken up and decided to hang around for two whole days. The humidity left in its wake was stifling. Everything around her was icky, _she _was icky.

It was the fourth (conscious) day for her -and seventh she had found out for Ryu- in No Mans forest, one of her country's densest, most dangerous forests, and neither one of them had had a proper bath or meal in ages. She wanted nothing more than to be lying in her luxurious spa right now with Chasta massaging sweet smelling shampoos into her hair, gossiping away and handmaidens feeding her cream puffs...

But no, she thought bitterly, reaching back and tightening the knot she had tied her frizzy mess of a mane into; no spa bath, no Chasta...and definitely nothing of the cream puff sort, possibly forever!

A few feet down from her, a plant succeeded in snagging a fish and was bringing the wriggling creature down towards a hole in the middle of it lined with long, thin, sharp teeth. She grimaced when it chomped down, spraying blood all over its colorful petals.

Portions of Wyndia's land literally leaked magic, and unlike the native Wyndians, whose bodies were, from birth, able to sync with large amounts of it consistently absorbing into them, a vast amount of animals, plants, and sometimes even humanoid creatures (although those cases were extremely rare) were not so lucky. Magic toyed with their genetics, mutating them into things seen no where else this side of the planet.

Sure, there was _some _normality -the boar, for one, leaned more towards that spectrum - but most were hellish creatures, bent on devouring anything with meat on it in their path, making the wooded death trap truly live up to its name. No man dared to enter its dark depths unless they absolutely had to, and even then, his stay was most likely cut short due to some unfortunate, bloody consequence.

Man-eating plants, insects with stingers and spikes as long as her forearms put together, trees with limbs harboring minds of their own...little tiny green goo-like things with eye balls bouncing on them erratically-

Nina went white in the face. She had looked down to investigate a sudden, weird, slimy feeling on her foot, and was shocked to find a tiny green eye goo sucking gleefully on her exposed toes. She shrieked and kicked it and her right boot off into the river.

"What the hell's gotten into you?" She heard Ryu hiss from behind her. Nina dragged her toes on the grass to try and get excess slime off.

"E-eye goo," she said, catching her breath, "On my foot..."

He sighed and shook his head, nosily ripping the last of the boar's skin off. "Now part of you is unprotected."

"It's fine. I won't step on anything. I've been hovering for the most part anyways." This was true. The wind from her flapping wings felt nice on her in this stagnant heat, and even he had commented on it once or twice.

The dragon muttered something agitatedly in his language and took a deep breath, puffing his chest out in an almost ridiculous manner.

"You would be scared too, i-if you weren't expecting it!" she huffed, crossing her arms. She hated it when he spoke draconian under his breath. "Barbarian...," she followed in common, pettily.

Ryu raised eyebrows at her and blew out a steady stream of fire from his lips back and forth over the meat.

Within seconds, a mouth watering aroma was filling the air. Nina found herself forgetting about his attitude and obsessively staring at his fire searing the boar's flesh, willing with all her might way beyond the teachings of royal etiquette, for it to hurry the hell up and cook so she could eat.

He must have been feeling the same way, their meal was extra rare that afternoon.

* * *

"The Kaiser has been quiet lately," Nina mentioned to Ryu when they were on the move again.

"Aye," he agreed, slashing through vines and brush to make a path for them "For me as well."

She hovered a little behind to avoid his swinging arm blades, looking both ways for trouble throughout the darkness. "You think...maybe it's a possibility the big white dragon may have...gotten rid of him?"

The dragon laughed back at her so sharply, it startled her, and he said nothing more.

He was like that, she was starting to figure out.

It wasn't a secret she was a major burden to someone as strong and resourceful as him, but neither one of them had much of a choice in anything right now so she wished he would at least make an effort to be nicer. He didn't talk unless asked a question (and that was really only _sometimes_ ), or he felt like barking some sort of order at her.

Granted, most of the orders were things like "Fai'en get the hell away from that plant's mouth!" or "Put down that mushroom, _this _is the type that won't kill us!", they all eventually led to: "You know what? Just don't touch _anything_ without consulting me first, alright?" in a tone she did not appreciate!

Unbeknownst to her was that it wasn't _all _her fault he was so annoyed. The folly was also with her white winged twin.

Ryu couldn't seem to shake her. With the Kaiser MIA, she must have felt she owned his dreams; she was every which way he turned! Trying to talk to him, get to _know _him.

He didn't want to get to know her! He had plenty of her idiocy to deal with in his waking hours!

But there she always was, smiling that charismatic smile at him, looking a hell of a lot like _her._

He knew what she was now, or at least he had a pretty good idea: a personification of the bit of the Wyndian's soul trapped within him. However, he did not know how much influence his own mind or the Kaiser had on it. Interacting with it, was out of the question.

But by Ladon's scales was she stubborn!

It was near impossible to fade her into the background, and each night she became more bold. She drove him almost to his breaking point the next night as he lay curled into a ball, its easily frightened, spoiled brat of a shell pressing her shivering back hard against his.

"I guess ignoring me _is _better than killing me, eh dragon boy? Does that mean you're softening up?"

His agitated gaze flickered to her glowing figure hovering before him.

_'Dragon boy' huh?_

She cocked her head, pink lips breaking to show teeth. "Oooh a brooding stare... I _am _getting through to you!"

The dragon crossed his arms and leaned back against a tree decorated with soft, glowing orange lanterns, turning his head from her. Three others like it joined to make a square. Wyndia's courtyard (pre-destroyed by him) was the setting of her choice this night. She landed daintily in front of him and went to lean on the tree beside him.

For a long moment they stood there, not moving, not speaking, both listening to the fountain and watching leaves float lazily down to the ground.

"When I was younger, the inner courtyard was like my secret base," White winged Nina said to the air as if it were interested, "I used to come in here and write stupid things on the cobblestones and the stones by the pond with chalk like 'Mrs. Von Buren' and 'I love Ethan forever and ever' with hearts and stars all around it," she giggled, bringing her hand girlishly to her lips. "Ethan used to ask me what I did in here, since I would never e~ver let him in. I told him Girl Stuff and that it was Very Important." She gave a nostalgic sigh. "I remember him sneaking in once, while I was in the middle of writing another stupid thing -with Chasta being a terrible lookout of course, paying more attention to the other soldiers passing by than looking for him - and dear _Goddess _was I embarrassed! I promise you, you'd never seen someone move so fast...I was running around stamping my feet, wiping off the stones with my hands, feverishly trying to demolish my confessions..."

She trailed off and gently leaned against him. "Say...have you ever been in love, Ryu?"

He nudged her away roughly, snarling, "What kind of idiotic question is that?"

"Well now! There's no need to be so _rude_," she huffed, pursing glossy lips at him.

"Get it through your head that I do not care for the useless ramblings of a wretched, ignorant, little _bird_!" he snapped ferociously, piercing yellow eyes wide.

The little soul flinched as though he had struck it. He watched her blink heavily, probably fighting back tears. She could cry for all he cared. It didn't matter what any bit of a Fai'en thought, especially one possessed by the Kaiser.

"Get it through _your_ head that I have no idea what my people have done to make you hate them so," she murmured with an acid tipped tongue, turning her head sharply away from him. Winds caressed perfect blonde tresses. "It isn't fair to pile all of their sins onto my shoulders."

Ryu watched those winds break away her body into the same glowing white feathers she always dispersed into. Her background followed her into non-existence, fading away until only the dragon was left standing in blackness.

The Fai'ens he knew were narcissistic, manipulative urchins. And to top it off, _her _blood was running through that ones veins.

That face, could never fully be trusted.

* * *

Sounds flooded into her ears.

Machinery humming, buzzing.

The pulsing of her own heartbeat.

Lungs, on reflex, tried to take a breath, but a liquid filling them quenched its need for oxygen before they had a chance.

An eye the color of the purest jade opened, focused on three ecstatic faces beaming at her through a forest of tubes floating in the thick glass dome separating her from them.

The corners of her own mouth lifted. She knew exactly what they were going to say before they said it.

She could _feel _it.

"Oh Goddess, Lady of the Light!" all three white jacketed men dropped to their knees. She could hear them perfectly.

The one in the middle looked up, pushed his black spectacles up his tan nose, closer to pale yellow eyes. "My Lady...It is by _such_ good fortune you are awake!" his smile spread from ear to ear. "Many interesting things are happening on Elanaar this day."

Yes, the presence was there, and it was gradually coming closer.

There really _were _interesting things happening in the world this day.

* * *

"Wow, am I...am I dreaming? Ryu, is that really the _sun _and a _field_ through those trees in the distance I see?"

Ryu hacked down a clump of vines, stopping to knock away a fist sized spider before it landed on Nina's oblivious head, and followed her gaze to what did indeed look like bits of the sun and the beginnings of a field of grass through the trees about a half a mile away.

Finally, he breathed to himself, the Grasslands.

"I thought we'd _never_ get out of this wretched place!" Nina voiced both of their thoughts and darted forward brashly to fly through the bit of woodland hell they still had left. He let loose an exasperated sigh before bounding lithely through the foliage, meeting and matching her speed in seconds while slashing greenery and small foe alike in her way.

When they reached the edge -thankfully alive and well- Ryu grabbed his overzealous partner's arm and pulled her back to him before she broke out into the sky. "But Ryu, the wind," she gave him a hurt look "...we haven't felt it or seen the sun in a week...!"

He didn't answer. His sight was set on what lay before them. The Grasslands were exactly what the name implied. Wide, open fields of grass all the way to the horizon and then some. There was nothing _but _grass. No shade, no shelter, nothing. They were going to be completely naked out here. Her wings, a moving ink blot on a canvas.

"Come o~n," Nina whined impatiently, tugging at his grip. "I want to fly and feel the wind!"

"Do you really think you can fly around so leisurely with those markers attached to your back?"

"But no one came after us in the forest...they're too scared to follow!"

"Why _would _they attack us in there, Fai'en? It's dark, there's monsters...it has the possibility of taking care of us all by itself." His eyes went up to scan the tops of the trees. He sniffed at the air. "And if it didn't, it would be easy to scout the edge from the air and find us the moment we exited. That's probably exactly what they're doing."

"You're paranoid," she muttered.

"And you're naïve. In your hands our lives are forfeit."

She narrowed her eyes down at him. "Let go of me."

"Only if you promise not to do anything stupid."

"I shouldn't have to promise a thing like that, I'm not a child!"

"I am not so sure of that."

Nina's face went scarlet. How _dare _he! She kicked at his hand with her bare foot, and her unkempt toenails drew blood on his skin. He winced and dropped his grip for only moment, but it was long enough for her to gain more height than his arm's length. "I'll show you, you're _wrong_," she snapped down at him and took off. He cursed and bounded after her into the sunlit field.

She flapped her wings hard, gaining height in the wide open blue sky, spreading her limbs out and relishing the feel of the wind on her sweat drenched, travel-worn body. When her eyes adjusted to the bright light, she looked back and turned, swooping down to taunt the dragon with a "Look nothing's happened!" when he sprang at her. She gasped and quickly pulled her legs up out of reach when his face suddenly changed expressions. His nostrils flared, and a blur coming from her upper right tackled him out of the air to the ground.

There was no time for her to react, an arrow _thunked_ into her shoulder and sent her reeling the other way.

"I got 'er!" rang out in common when her body slammed hard against the ground.

Ryu tumbled around with a mass of white feathers in the tall grass, grasping at his bleeding shoulder, fighting for breath that stubbornly would not come; Nina's fall had knocked the wind from both of them. His assailant took advantage of the handicap, and had him on his back in seconds. Sunlight blinded Ryu before he could get a good look at the guy, and a gauntlet caught him hard across the chin. "This is supposed to be a _dragon_?" it mocked.

Ryu turned and spat out blood. He didn't understand the voice, but he recognized it.

The princess' boyfriend.

Nina's ears were ringing, her shoulder was throbbing with more pain than she had ever felt in her life, her damn lungs weren't working, her whole body felt like it had been repeatedly ran over by a carriage...

And now someone was grabbing a handful of her hair from behind and jerking her up by it. "D-Don't you even th-think about t-t-trying a-anything Death Angel!"

She'd heard that unique scratchy deep voice before. She and Chasta had sneaked out of her quarters one night with this guy a few months ago and stole some wine from the cellar with him and a few other soldiers. She remembered he had a funny laugh.

"T-Thomas...!" she gasped out when her breath finally came rushing back.

The grip loosened for a moment, then tightened even harder. "D-don't act like you know me!" his baritone voice cracked like a scared little boys. "Y-you're nothing b-but a monster!"

She opened her eyes slowly to see bright green grass waving below her, spotting with the blood pouring from her shoulder. Her peripheral vision caught the arrow sticking out of her, and she felt faint.

Seriously, a damn _arrow_!'?

Greaves came into view in front of her, as well as the top of a military issued crossbow, and an unfamiliar face bent down. "Sir Von Buren wanted us ta be prepared for _this_?" She glared at his bright blue eyes, then stopped.

Von Buren?

She struggled to look up. It didn't matter how much pain she was in, she wanted to see Ethan!

"E-Ethan...!" she cried, reaching out.

Thomas gripped her hair so hard she felt he was going to rip it clean out of her head. "She's the damn Angel of Death! This has to be a trap..! There's no way something like her would go down this easy! Where are our other men!'?"

"Don't worry, Von Buren's got the other one under control, look-"

A piece of curved bone streaked through the air and penetrated deep between Thomas' eyes. He lost his grip on Nina; the impact sent him flying backwards with not so much as a gasp into the grass. The other soldier staring in the direction Thomas' body went didn't see the next projectile coming until it connected with the back of the head. He was dead before he fell, and Nina laid for a moment beside him, staring wide eyed at the confused look now forever gracing his features. Blood pooled toward her. Behind, she knew Thomas was lying there in the same condition.

More lives wasted because of her.

"Fai'en!"

Ryu's cry threw reality back at her, and she struggled for footing on unstable legs. Her eyes went to the arrow and she stumbled again. Crimson scales now covered the skin around the its entry point. They scared the hell out of her, but at least it stopped the bleeding.

"His back was turned, you bastard!" Nina's head jerked up at Ethan's voice.

He and Ryu were standing across from one another, panting, Ethan with his swords up in front of him, the dragon, his hands. The edges of Ryu's forearms were torn open, lined with scales and dripping blood. Two broken off bones protruded from them.

Her eyes widened. Had he actually ripped off his _bones _to deal with those two? She cast a look down at the blade protruding from the back of un-named soldier's head. There was no need for all of that...

But it didn't seem like such a big deal when Ryu merely winced, and grew two fresh ones covered in thick red scales. His eyes swiveled to Nina and then back to his crimson haired adversary, a smirk forming.

"I'll wipe that smile off your godsdamn face!" Ethan promised, dashing forward. Ryu deflected the first flurry of overhead blows, then took to the shadows amidst a shower of sparks. Ethan swung at nothing and cursed. The dragon appeared at his back, Ethan skillfully swung his swords behind him, blocking without looking. "I do not wish to play 'hide-and-seek, coward!" he growled, whirling around and again swinging at nothing. "Be a man and show yourself!"

Ryu materialized at his side. Sword met scales again as their weapons locked. The dragon continued smirking; it seemed to be annoying the guy. "The guardian of your 'Angel of Death' is a dragon," he taunted, "...and they didn't send more than this? Your people overestimate you." The Wyndian didn't understand him, but judging by his face, he knew he was being mocked.

A small gray box on Ethan's right arm suddenly chirped, and he shoved forward hard, ripping his swords out of captivity and pushing Ryu back. The dragon took two leaps backwards and crouched down into tall grasses waving in a breeze sweeping over the fields. His hand went to his jaw and he popped it with a grimace.

The soldier kept an eye on him, along with his left sword up, and brought his communicator close to his mouth. "Von Buren! Von Buren!" it was crying.

"Jonston and Byrnes are down, I'm engaged with the dragon now," Ethan hurriedly said into it. Ryu began to circle him, slinking like a cat in the grass. "No, no backup. They'll only be in my way," he used his chin to hit the off button as the person on the other end was saying "No backup? Are you crazy-!'?"

"I can deal with this myself." He readied his swords, and sprinted forward.

Nina watched them clash again in a barrage of stunning swordplay as she fought to keep her balance, a terrible realization squeezing her heart.

Ryu was going to kill Ethan just like he did those other soldiers if she didn't stop him!

"Ryu!" she cried desperately, "Whatever you do, _don't _kill Ethan!" She tried first simply telling him not to, but neither Ryu nor Ethan showed a flicker of interest in her speaking. "You idiot dragon, can you hear me!'?"

Second, she tried pinching herself to get his attention.

The stubborn bastard wasn't responding to that either; It was as if they were suddenly the only two people on the planet.

Ethan was sending short, fast jabs that were forcing Ryu to dive in and out of the shadow realm to dodge. The Wyndian was light on his feet -in fact, he was barely using them at all- and was so nimble, even with the element of surprise, Ryu couldn't scratch him. Still he continued assaulting, appearing and reappearing at different sides, looking for a hole in the royal guardian's defense where there appeared to be none. Ethan reacted fast, faster than any of his race Ryu had ever fought, expertly blocking and parrying every blow.

Despite his impressive speed, however, the dragon's persistence finally paid off, and an opening came when the Wyndian sliced down a second too late on an overhead chop with both of his swords. Ryu swiftly caught his weapons in the curves of his scaled blades and swung them out wide. He disappeared into the shadow realm and came out down at the redhead's gut. With a smirk, he started to jab his blade forward, knowing no amount of armor mattered against dragon scale, "Its been fun," he commended.

"Ryu, s_top_!" Nina screamed.

Third, she decided to pull the goddessdamned arrow out of her. _That _ought to stop him! She grasped its wooden shaft and grit her teeth. "I said _don't _kill him!" she cried pulling with all of her might. The jagged metal arrow point tore with it a good sized chunk of flesh when it came out of her shoulder through the chain mail and she dropped to the ground screaming from the mind numbing pain streaking through her, wishing the Goddess had given her enough sense to _not _do stupid things like that.

Ryu's blade stopped suddenly as fire burst from his shoulder. He howled and a hand flew to try and stop the blood gushing out of a fresh deep wound. He quickly glanced at Nina and saw her writhing on the ground, holding a bloody arrow tight in one of her fists.

A second was too much time for him to waste, Ethan had taken to the air. The dragon looked up, and two hilt butts came crashing down on the top of his head. Ryu went face first into the ground hard enough to crack it. Ethan landed amidst clouds of dust and grass and without a word, stabbed one sword into where his heart was through his back.

Scales flooded into Nina's wound on her shoulder, stopping her bleeding and dulling the pain enough for her to focus again on the present. The sounds of fighting were gone. Fear rocketed through her.

Please, oh Goddess please let Ethan be alive!

She got to her knees, pulled herself onto her feet, straightened herself up unsteadily, and saw Ryu lying on the ground with a sword sticking out of his back. Ethan stood over him, other weapon still poised, staring at the body as if any moment now it would jump up at him.

It should have been a glorious scene; Ethan was alive, the big, bad dragon was dead, his polluted soul was now bound to leave her any minute just like she wanted...

Yet, she couldn't help feeling incredibly, guiltily..._sad_.

He had saved her from Vahn, consoled her from doing the unimaginable...and for the past few nights had actually been letting her cowardly self sleep near him for comfort.

And the little boy...

Ethan pulled his sword out of Ryu when he was satisfied the monster was dead, and for the first time, turned his head to Nina.

The boy was so frightened of the Kaiser...and Ryu had said it had been attached to him ever since he was little. Tears barely wet the edges of her eyes. Not to mention his imprisonment underneath Wyndia...

What horrible fates befell that man until the very end.

Swords glinted in the sunlight and Nina noticed Ethan walking toward her. "Y-you killed h-him..." she stuttered, "Th-the b-black wings should g-go away."

His face didn't change expressions. Neither did her wings.

Her stomach dropped. He was going to kill her anyway.

She squeezed her eyes closed. "I-If you're r-really going to d-d-d-o this...m-m-make it quick..." she sputtered through tears and chattering teeth.

Ethan stopped, and had to steady a shaking sword hand.

The box on his arm chirped again. "Von Buren! Are you alive? What's your status?"

Seconds of silence passed.

"Von Buren!"

"I'm fine," Ethan's calm voice startled Nina, "the dragon is down."

"And the Angel?"

"She is...being dealt with as we speak."

'Dealt with'. How stupid she'd been for all these years, believing they'd actually had a chance at true 'love', that he ever _cared. _She clutched handfuls of grass, started to laugh and cry at the same time.

Ethan halted again steps from her, brought both swords just above her head. He took a deep breath, and after whispering something that sounded like "Goddess forgive me," swung...at the sky.

He was falling backwards because Ryu had just sliced off one of his legs at the knee.

Ethan's scream pulled Nina's eyes open. Swords clanged to the ground. Ryu was now back from the dead standing over him right in front of her, one foot on the redhead's breastplate and the tip of his left scaled blade pricking his neck. Ethan's right leg was a crimson fountain, spewing blood all over the grass in streams.

"No-nonononono, _no!_!" she cried, crawling frantically towards them and grabbing a hold of Ryu's blade with both her hands. "Please, don't kill him!" Wide, watery eyes pleaded up at the dragon, who's palms also started to bleed. He was panting heavily, his darkened eyes heavy lidded. There was a hole in both sides of his chain mail filled with scales and huge blood stains around them both.

"What do you mean _don't _kill him?" growled the dragon in a husky, pained voice.

Nina looked down at Ethan. Rapid blood loss was making his face scary pale.

"He will continue to come after us if I don't, Fai'en."

"No, no you can't, Ryu! You just can't!" she cried through tears, "He's my friend! Oh Goddess, look at all this blood...Look what you did to my dear Ethan..."

'Dear' Ethan clenched his teeth and spat on Ryu's blade.

"Give me _less _reasons to do it," the dragon snarled, pushing the blade further. Nina pulled back at it harder, the scales cut deeper into her skin. She ignored it.

"Ryu, _please_, I'm serious! Let's just go! H-he can call for help, and we can get as far away as we can. He can't follow us like this anyways! Come on, we don't need to kill him!"

The dragon's ears caught something and he glanced up into the sky. It was very faint, but he heard it; the sound of a large group of flapping wings. "Reinforcements are close."

"Let's _go _then!"

Ryu took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. "You listen to me Fai'en and you listen to me well. I want you to run as fast as you can, as far as you can, straight behind us. I'll distract them and catch up with you soon."

Nina blinked at him. "What? No! You'll kill him the second my back is turned!"

"By Ladon, could you be any more stubborn!'?" he cried, eyes wide.

"_Me _stubborn!'?"

The wings were getting closer. As it was, she was only going to get out of this by the skin of their teeth. Ryu glanced down at Ethan scowling at him through what he knew was agonizing pain. The hate was almost tangible in his dark squinted eyes.

He was going to regret this decision.

"Alright. I promise I won't kill him."

"Don't think I...-wait, you won't? Really?"

"Yes. Now _run._"

Nina looked around. "W-won't they see me?"

"I'm going to make sure you're the least of their worries."

She stood quickly and turned, too scared to ask him what that meant. "Remember Ryu, you promised...you told me you _never _go back on your promises," she said clenching her fists.

"And I don't, unfortunately," he growled behind her.

She started to run, then stopped short. What if Ryu killed Ethan anyhow, and this was her last chance to say anything to him? "Ethan," she managed to choke out in common, heart beating hard in her throat.

It had to be said. She couldn't live with herself if it wasn't.

"I...I love you...I always have...and I always will."

She took off into the fields, tears streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks.

Ryu watched Ethan's face with interest. Whatever the girl had said, struck a chord with him. It lasted only a moment though, the hateful glare resurfaced soon after she had gone. "You're lucky she fancies you," Ryu wheezed, reaching up with his other hand and clutching his throbbing head. "I would love to drive this blade through your skull." He didn't want to admit this bastard had caught him off guard. _He _was actually lucky he was a dragon. Any normal being would have died instantly from a lethal stab like that. Ethan continued glaring in silence. He knew it too.

Wings closed in behind him. A dozen Wyndian soldiers landed, gawking at Ethan's mutilated limb, readying their weapons and screaming at the 'monster' on top of him. Crossbows clicked, swords unsheathed.

Ryu pulled himself together the best he could and snickered softly at Ethan, "Looks like your friends want to play too," he said pulling his blade away from the soldier's neck and fading into nothingness.

Ethan couldn't warn a soul.

The dragon danced in and out of the shadow realm, slitting a throat here, breaking a neck there, gutting another off to the side...;He was a bloodthirsty monster, feeding on their flesh and fear.

He killed everyone but a boy barley in his teenage years, with armor on noticeably too large for him that had begged for his life. It wasn't that Ryu had gone soft, it was just, if Ethan was to live like he had promised he would, he was going to need at least one other person with him. Why not let the kid live to see another day?

He left the boy with a traumatic memory, wet trousers and a bloody mess to deal with, as he ran back into the fields, already hot on Nina's trail.

* * *

Nina ran through the grass, heart dragging on her heels. She had heard the screams. Hopefully none of them came from Ethan.

Suddenly she was scooped up into arms. Tear filled eyes blinked and Ryu appeared, breathing heavily and breaking into a run. He clutched her head and faced it towards him so the tall grass wouldn't cut (their) faces as he ran. Her nose crinkled. He stunk of blood.

"Don't look at me like that," he muttered gruffly when she glared up at him. "I didn't kill him."

"Did you do anything _else_?"

He didn't answer.

Nina clutched at his cloak collar in front of her then let it go. It was still wet. "...I don't want you to kill anyone anymore," she said shakily, wiping them off on a dry part. On her palms, slits of crimson scales shined back at her. "It's not right..."

"I can't promise something like that, given our situation."

"But it's like you _enjoy _it."

"I simply choose the best option for our safety."

No, he loved that fight with Ethan, every minute of it! She could see it in the smirk plastered on his face the entire time. "Did you kill all of the men coming after us? Or leave them like Ethan?" she didn't know why she was asking this question, knowing whatever answer he gave was going to make her angry.

"Not everyone."

The strong, metallic smell of the soldiers' blood nauseated her. She tried to hold in the bit of food that was in her stomach. "What a kind soul you have..." she murmured sarcastically.

"You're going to learn mercy such as that for the wrong people will bite your ass in the end," his voice was a low rumble.

"I don't care. I don't want Ethan dead, simple as that!" she snapped and he said nothing more.

* * *

For a long time Ryu ran without stopping through field after field of grass. Sometimes tall, sometimes short, wildflowers in some, thick weeds and briars in the next. Nina spent most of the time trying to hold her breath, and keeping her mind from thinking back to Ethan lying on the ground, blood spewing out of his leg.

She wondered what he thought when she told him she loved him. Probably nothing, there was a dragon at his throat after all.

Before she could begin torturing herself over it, Ryu suddenly pitched forward.

They both tumbled to the ground and all Nina could see was his hair. In his arms, she could feel his body trembling hard against her like he had a fever. "Ryu...?" she reached up and pushed away tangled navy locks to see his face. He was grimacing, breathing through bared teeth like a wounded animal. "H-ey are you alright?" His grip loosened on her.

"I...I need to rest..." he wheezed.

She pulled herself out from under him and he curled into a ball.

The sun was setting, pouring orange light over the tops of shimmering grass, making it look like it was on fire. A masterpiece of pink and purple clouds bubbled and swirled into the horizon. Nina laid back against grass, fingering the scaled wound throbbing on her shoulder.

"There's trees...up north from here..." Ryu's pained voice floated over.

"We must be nearing Tantar," Nina answered.

"We have...to take to a forest again Fai'en... This isn't safe..."

As much as Nina did not want to spend another day near any trees, she had to agree. At least the Tantar regions were covered in normal, Ludian-like woodlands. Plus, the less they were attacked, the less lives Ryu would be pressured to take.

"Alright. Whenever you're ready."

"Heh..." He coughed loudly and she thought she heard him dry heave. She crossed her arms and looked up into the hazy pink sky.

But if they didn't get attacked...would she ever see Ethan again?

* * *

"Oh, you poor _baby_, what did the nasty little dragon _do_ to you?"

Ethan's eyes fluttered open to see an icy pair he thought he'd never look into again.

He groaned, surveyed his surroundings. He was in the royal sickroom in castle Wyndia, lying in a heavily padded bed with his right leg elevated in a sling hanging from a contraption attached to the ceiling. He must have arrived there in time for Lisele to fuse the missing limb back where it belonged.

How incredibly lucky he was.

"You looked so to be in so much pain earlier in your sleep, I wanted to cry!" the high-pitched voice was syrupy sweet. A very female body was pressing against his bare chest, slender fingers with long nails were tracing his jawline playfully. "But now that you're awake you don't look so bad..."

He turned his head away from her advancing ruby lips. "What the hell are you doing here, Ivory?"

The stunningly gorgeous girl turned him to face her. "Why are you being so mean, Ethan? I was always so very _nice_ to you," she purred.

His agitated expression didn't change. "I didn't think they'd call the AG so soon."

Ivory's long, bright blue ringlets fell over snowy shoulders when she shrugged. Shimmering faerie wings fluttered behind her. "Yes they called for me yesterday. I was really surprised to hear you had failed at a job, even if it _was _against a dragon." One corner of her mouth turned up. "You aren't getting soft because the Angel is your princess, are you?"

"My personal business is none of yours."

"Really?" she leaned down and touched her lips to his ear. "Does she know about us, all the _fun _we used to have?"

"I'm not in the mood," he growled.

She sighed and stood up away from him. "You always _were _such a stick in the mud unless rubbed the right way, darling."

The door opened to the room, and the King of Wyndia hurriedly stepped in, followed by his adviser and a few soldiers. "Excuse me, b-but I don't believe we've been properly introduced," he stuttered, giving Ivory a twice over.

She was tall, her full figured body was barely covered in a loose, short white wrap around dress held in place by one gold flower brooch at her shoulder. Her skin was as almost as pale as the garment, and her eyes were like the clearest blue winter sky lined with thick, dark, luxurious lashes. She put her hand out for him to shake, smiling brightly. "Silly me, I was just _so_ happy to see Ethan again, I completely forgot to check in with you before warping in." The king's hand gingerly grasped hers. He expected it to be ice cold like her features, but it was just as warm as anyone else's. "I'm Ivory."

Her name struck a deep fear into the King of Wyndia, but Jaxx had warned him this one would probably want to take the job first. Especially with Ethan involved.

Issac shook Ivory's hand briskly and stepped back nervously. This was one of the ones the AG had to keep in check. "I-it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Ivory." She giggled infectiously. It was hard to picture a girl like that being guilty of the crimes she had committed.

"I regret to inform you, we don't know where the Angel and the dragon have run off to. Von Buren's injuries were too severe for him to follow, and the only other survivor was a boy that went into shock the moment he delivered our guardian back to us."

Ivory crossed her arms and jutted a hip out. "Hmm, well that might be a bit of a problem..."

"I don't want Ivory to go by herself," piped Ethan suddenly.

"Aw, are you _worried _about me?"

He gave a defeated sigh, then nodded. "Yes. I'm worried."

"I'll send soldiers with her, it won't be a prob-"

"The dragon tore a dozen soldiers apart like they were paper in front of me in seconds."

"Ooo so _you_ want to come with me, huh Ethan?" said Ivory coyly, "I see how it is."

"Can we afford to wait until you recover?"

"A week at the most. I'll beg Lisele to work overtime on my leg."

The King looked over at his adviser who shrugged. "Alright...but are you sure you'll be able to go through with it this time?"

"I have no problem going through with it," Ethan almost snapped. "I was not used to fighting a dragon, that is all."

"Alright. A week. Although, I do not guarantee the other countries will honor your request."

"I'll have to accept that risk."

Issac gave his royal guardian an unconvincing glance then turned to leave the room. He didn't want to be near Ivory any longer than he had to be.

"How annoyingly noble," The faerie girl said when they left, leaning back against the wall. "You want to be the one who kills her, don't you?"

Ethan scowled at her. "You know nothing you speak about."

"Say that all day long, Ethan, but you know I can read you like a book."

The redhead turned from her and stared at the other wall. "Having a conscience is a handicap, huh?"

She giggled, "Haven't I always told you that?"

"I forget your heart is a block of ice."

"Don't worry, I can help you remember a lot of things about me if you ask correctly."

Ethan didn't respond to that and she sighed again loudly. She really wanted to meet the girl taking his mind away from her. "So where should we begin? Even with a week's start, they can't be too far... -_sigh_- but it's still going to be _such _a bother..."

"I can help you with that."

Both Ivory and Ethan looked over to see Chasta standing in the doorway holding a communicator box in her hands. She walked in and set it on a table near Ethan's bed. Ivory looked the handmaiden head to toe before she spoke. "And what is that, little missy?"

Chasta ignored Ivory's condescending tone and dissecting stare. "Nina has its mate. I gave it to her before she left so she could contact me if she wished. She's too far away to communicate with right now, but the map on it will show you where she is at all times."

Ethan reached for it, and pushed a few buttons. A map of the Grassland Regions appeared on the screen, and a small purple dot bleeped in the upper quadrants. "They're...heading towards Tantar," he said, then looked up at Chasta with raised his eyebrows. "Why would you give me this?" he asked, "I thought you two were friends."

Chasta smirked, "So were you, right?" Ethan didn't have an answer to that, so she turned and headed back to the door. "You have your reasons," she said with her hand resting on the door's surface, "and I have mine. Besides, isn't she a horrible monster now?" She swept out, shutting the door behind her.

"Hmm," Ivory said, touching her chin with one hand. "Saucy girl. I think I might like her."

Ethan gripped the communicator tight in his hand, watching the dot that was the princess move ever so slightly towards the forests of Tantar.

Yeah. Saucy girl.

* * *

**A/N: **The thing I'm the worst at is action. This is why this chapter took so long. I love action, however, and I want to get better at it! I hope this was a good start! Thanks so much still for all the reviews, they make me happy. =3.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

_Fate Does Not Always Smile Upon the Innocent_

He was so warm, so safe.

Nothing else mattered; In his arms, the world stood still.

Things like the Curse of the Endless Night did not exist, _could_ not exist.

Nina breathed in as much of him as she possibly could, feeling his scent reach into her, relax away the anxiety brewing in her soul. "I can't bare to be without you any longer, Ethan...!" She wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzled deeper into his scarf. "I don't care what you've done, I forgive you...a million times over I will always forgive you!"

Dark eyes gazed down at her, a boyish smirk played gently on the love of her life's lips.

"Will you promise not to leave me, Ethan?" she asked, grasping him tighter. "Promise me your life again..."

"Actually, I would like _you_ to promise _not _to get this close to me ever again."

Blissful pink clouds bubbling and dancing about her head suddenly parted, and her nose crinkled with the distinct smell of blood. Ethan's smile vanished.

That voice...it wasn't right. Nina blinked. The _face _wasn't right either! She blinked away more haze, and her stomach plummeted to her feet when she realized, with extreme embarrassment, she had herself wrapped around Ryu. She squealed and pushed herself hurriedly from him, scooting as far back as she could against their room's dark bark wall. "I...I'm sorry..." she stuttered, averting her eyes, cheeks pulsing heat. Between them, she could feel their souls fighting to consume one another, as they always did when she and the dragon came in close contact. "I d-didn't mean...I-I...was dreaming of Eth-"

"I don't care to know why, just don't let it happen again," he interrupted, pulling himself up from their dingy, leaf ridden pallet. He leaned against the wall across from her, brushed dirt off of his cloak.

Nina's eyes came back up, shot him a glare. "You act as though I'm some sort of horrible beast, yet _you're _the one still stinking of innocents' blood!" she snapped icily, rubbing her nose hard. "Besides, I didn't much like being so close to you either!"

"For the last time, soldiers are not 'innocents'," he growled back.

"And again, what golden throne are _you _on, to make that sort of judgment?"

He fished burrs out of his tangled hair. "You're alive, aren't you?"

"So?"

"Then I don't think you have any place to argue about my judgment."

She bit her lip. There wasn't a thing for her to say; he was infuriatingly correct. Instead, she continued scowling at him, wishing she had the guts to jump up and kick him in his shins as hard as she could.

He yawned and glanced up. "Dawn will light the sky in an hour or so. Plenty of time for another lesson before I hunt breakfast, don't you think?"

She yawned from watching him yawn and it was so wide, her jaw popped. "Are you serious? I can barely keep my eyes open..."

He snorted at her. "At least teach me a few more phrases before your lazy carcass sleeps another day away."

Her frown deepened. It wasn't like she had anything better to do, he didn't allow her to leave their hideout!

"So, how about it? A few words, maybe a sentence?"

She sighed loudly at him, "You only want to learn curse words, Ryu. You don't want a _real _lesson! It's a waste of my time, so let me sleep alright?"

"Not entirely true. I would like to learn other things as well."

She raised eyebrows at him. "Why then, did you _continuously_ harp at me all day yesterday because I wouldn't teach you...what was it again? 'son of a whore' and, 'rat bastard'?"

"If you remember, he _did _almost kill me," Ryu said, "I would like to be able to...exchange words with him the next we meet."

Nina rolled her eyes and leaned her head back against wood, staring up at moonlight trickling in through cracks in their tree house's ceiling, How she wished he would shut the hell up so she could go back to sleep...

Some days ago, the Goddess finally -after many, _many _desperate prayers from Nina- blessed them enough to find a place that was -for the most part- comfortable_._ Wolfmen of Tantar frequently built their dwellings inside of the colossal trees native to their forests, and, as luck would have it, the two stumbled across an uninhabited one a few miles into the heart of the woodlands.

It had some loose, creaky boards, was _extremely _dusty, and had to be shared with all types of birds, small mammals and insects, but it had a kitchen with a stone fireplace, a cauldron and utensils, as well as a few spices in the cabinets and a bedroom containing a mattress with pillows for them to sleep on. It wasn't a castle, but it sure as hell beat being in a cave or out in the open along side monsters in that awful No Man's forest.

"Fai'en, I'm speaking to you!"

"Alright, what, _what_ do you want me to teach you!'?"

"Hmmm..." He clutched his chin in his hand, rested his elbow against his knee. "How about...'unskilled ogre's ass'?" He smiled at his own humor, she threw her pillow at him.

Ryu caught it before it came anywhere near striking him, and laughed when she crossed her arms and turned her nose up haughtily, "Hmph!"ing like a spoiled child.

What could he expect? She _was _a princess after all.

Her soul, however, was different. Almost every night, it literally begged for him to allow her to help him learn common. Of course, it wasn't until she begrudgingly included curse words into the equation, that he entertained the thought.

Not long after its bratty container calmed down enough to settle back into dreamland (without uttering so much as a _word _for him to dwell on), Ryu found himself falling in as well, listening to crickets chirping peacefully.

The next thing he knew, he was lounging in Wyndia's fields, the crickets transitioning into birds singing sweetly into the breeze. White winged Nina was there, eager to teach him anything he asked for.

"Try not to roll your 'r's so much."

"So we meet again, bastarrrd sworrrdsman."

"Hmm," Nina's head went to one side. "Your accent is so thick...it's hard for me to understand you sometimes."

Ryu leaned back against a broken white stone wall marking some old Fae ruins the Wyndian told him she used to play around as a child, and stared out into a clear, blue sky. Flowers swayed back and forth all around him, beads of early morning dew sparkling on their brightly colored petals. "Aren't you a part of me? How come I don't simply already _know _this tongue?"

Nina shrugged, turning her attention back to a flower wreath she was making. Behind her, two Wyndian soldiers watched a child Nina and her brunette handmaiden friend run around laughing hysterically. "I wouldn't stress over it. You _are _learning what I do teach you at a remarkable rate..." she frowned. "Although...if only for a teensy _tiny_ bit...I wish we could stray from only learning insults for Ethan..."

"It didn't take me too long to learn Fae. I'm...good with languages I suppose," he said, folding his arms behind his head. "As for your swordsman, I'm not over him stabbing me _quite _yet."

The glowing winged Wyndian gave a soft sigh of defeat and plucked a pink flower near her. She held it up for what looked like some strict inspection. "I've been curious to ask you, Ryu," she said, tucking it into the front of her wreath, apparently satisfied. She set it daintily on the top of her head. "Why would a dragon prince, such as yourself, need to know Wyndia's first language so fluently?" In the background, her smaller clone dropped down into the grass giggling. The handmaiden ran and placed a similar flower crown into the little girl's head.

He gave Nina a sidelong glance. "My survival depended on it," he said, then scowled at the pity pouring over her porcelain face. "But I wasn't so hard up I need _your _kind to worry so."

"I'm sorry," she replied gently, taking the flowers off of her head, "but you look and always talk like you've led a very hard life."

"You know nothing of my life," he growled.

"I know of the Kaiser."

"And what? What exactly _do_ you know about the Kaiser and I, Fai'en?"

"Well, I don't have to know _specifics._.." she started to anxiously pull apart the wreath, looking away from the scary face he was making. "I know...that he invades you, every part of you." She bit at her lower lip. "He...violates...Goddess, it's _so_ much worse than anything someone like Vahn could ever do to me. That would have only been my body, whereas the Kaiser affects...the mind...the _soul_..." Her delicate, pale hands shook. "It's like none of your thoughts are your own anymore. He digs up your worst fears, throws them into your face, mocks the things you love... Makes you hate...so...much..."

Ryu's face relaxed, became expressionless.

"How...does a _child _deal with that? I don't understand how you are still able to hold onto your sanity after having a demon like _him _tormenting you for so long..."

The dragon lowered his head, hiding a majority of his face inside of his cloak collar, and was silent for a long time. "It'd be best if you didn't hold me on such a high pedestal," when he finally did speak, his voice was rough, "My mind is not as sturdy as you may think."

She took a deep, ragged breath, as if holding back tears. "...How do you justify yourself to keep on living...after all the horrendous things he makes you do?" her voice grew so timid, even he had trouble hearing her.

He realized she was also talking about herself.

"There isn't a day I don't question that as well, Fai'en," he replied with a fragility that shocked the little soul. Ignoring her incredulous stare, he picked a flower beside him. "'Flower,'" he murmured in common, holding it up.

She wiped her eyes on the back of her hand and cracked a minuscule smile. "You didn't roll your 'r' there."

"Mmhm," he rubbed the flower's stem in between two fingers, watching the dew on its petals fly off in every direction. "I guess I _am _a fast learner."

* * *

"There she is..."

"It's really her right? That gorgeous girl really is the slayer of Liordon?"

Two Wyndian soldiers cautiously leaned out from behind a corner to see Ivory walking down their castle's main hallway, happily humming an upbeat tune and balancing a covered tray of food in one hand. She was, as usual, wearing a sheer garment draped around her that could barely be classified as clothes.

"They say she's crazy for Von Buren."

The other soldier gulped, "Yeah, she's crazy alright. You remember what she _did_, right?"

"Hi there, can I help you boys with something?"

Both soldiers froze. They had merely blinked, and she was standing right in front of them.

Her ruby painted lips parted into a smile, as she ran her free hand through luscious hair. "I'm assuming you were trying to add me to the conversation, but I was too far away, right? Because you surely wouldn't be talking about lil ol' me behind my back, now _would _you?"

_Clankity Clank Clank _went them shaking in their armor.

"I...w-we..." one stuttered. She walked closer and hooked a finger on his scarf, pulled him terrifyingly close. His eyes looked like they would fall out of their sockets.

"I guess I should thank you for calling me 'gorgeous' though, huh~?" she whispered, giving him a small peck on the cheek. She let go, watching with amusement him stumble back into the wall. The other was too afraid to try and steady him. "At ease, boys," she saluted them with a giggle, and turned to continue down the hallway, picking up her song where she left off. Behind her, the soldiers ran for their lives.

"Lunch is se~rved!" The faerie girl sang, flinging open the door to Ethan's sickroom.

He paid her no attention, he was too busy jumping around throwing kicks and punches into open air.

She walked on in and set the tray down on his bedside table. "Didn't that frumpy healer of yours tell you not to stress your leg?" He didn't reply. She sat down on the bed against his pillows, crossing her long legs, and watched him intently. He was wearing only a pair of white shorts, only bandages covered his arms, leg, and chest. "I guess I should stay quiet and enjoy the show, huh?" She flirted, eying his toned, pale body glistening with sweat.

Ethan threw a few more kicks out higher than his head, and turned back to her, panting. "What's for lunch?"

She brightened at his notice. "I told them to make your favorite! Steak and potatoes!" He sat down on the edge of the bed, she slithered closer to him, rubbing her palms in circles on his back between his wings. "If you want, after you eat, I could massage those tired muscles," she purred into his ear.

He took the top off of the platter. Steam billowed out. "When I'm finished eating, I'm going to continue training."

Ivory let go of him and sat back in a huff, crossing her arms. "What for?" she whined. "It's just a stupid dragon!"

"You've never seen 'just a stupid dragon' before, have you?"

"Well, no, but I don't think it's going to be that hard. Especially since he and the girl might have some sort of weird physical link, or whatever you said," she waved her hand around nonchalantly.

"When she pulled Jonston's arrow out of her, the dragon took a similar injury, as if from a ghost," Ethan had repeated that line out loud and in his head so many times in the past few days trying to analyze it, it was starting to sound rehearsed.

"So we kill her and he's done. Simple as that, right?."

"It's the 'getting to her' I'm worried about."

"This dragon, is he really _that_ strong? I know you told your king he wasted a dozen soldiers in seconds, but...well, honey, you and I can do the same," she said matter-of-factly.

Ethan's jaw clenched. "He was strong enough to where I believe I am still here solely because the princess had him spare my life." The faerie girl's mood darkened. He stabbed a fork through his steak and picked the entire thing up.

"You better go through with it this time," Her voice bit his back like harsh winter wind. "Because if you don't, I will not hesitate to take care of her myself."

"I am well aware of how you work."

She instantly switched to a wide smile, and clapped her hands together, wings fluttering. "Okay! As long as you know!" She threw her arms around his neck. "Maybe this just might be a little fun...a trip with you to fight a dragon...maybe a _demon_...two things I haven't had the pleasure of killing yet!"

He brought the steak to his mouth and ripped a chunk of it off with his teeth, Ivory rubbed her face in his wings, humming happily. Just a few more days, he thought, chewing and eying the bloodied bandages on his right leg.

A few more days and that dragon would pay.

* * *

"So what exactly _can _you do with those sprites of yours?"

"Excuse me?" Nina tossed a pinch of salt into a cauldron of boiling water, vegetables, and rabbit meat, and peered over her shoulder at Ryu doing pull-up exercises on a branch running across the ceiling of the kitchen behind her. Two small chipmunks sat on one side of it, chattering loudly watching him curiously with twitching heads.

"I saw you use two of them back in Wyndia. Can you summon any for combat?"

She shrugged, opened up a small bottle and sprinkled dried pepper flakes into her mixture. "I've told you before, Princesses of Wyndia aren't taught how to fight."

"So you really only use them as say, oh, a night light or something, eh?" he asked, then smirked at her questioning stare. "Don't feel bad, it sounds about right. She _would _have me connected with someone completely useless."

She flushed. "What don't you understand about 'I wasn't taught how!'?"

He did some more pull ups, then hooked his legs over the branch. "As a person of your position in a world infested with monsters of the creature and humanoid kind...why _wouldn't_ you have the sense to make someone teach you?" He crossed his arms over his bare chest and pulled himself up so that his nose touched the branch. He repeated this motion several times. She couldn't help looking at the strange black runes lining his sides and spine splotched with crimson scales. What _were _those, anyway?

"Because Ethan was _supposed_ to take care of me," she muttered with a clenched jaw, turning away sharply and throwing open a cabinet. "Dinner's ready," she snapped, pulling out two bowls and chucking one back at him.

Ryu dropped down from the branch nimbly and caught it. She turned her nose at him when they passed, and sat down at a table in the middle of the kitchen with her share. He filled his bowl and sat down across from her. She said a quick prayer to the Goddess. He dug right on in.

"I wonder if we can find a place with some clothes," she grumbled, stirring her soup with her spoon harder than necessary.

"Why?" Ryu drank his straight from the bowl. "Who are you trying to impress in the forest?"

"That's _not_ the reason. Chain mail is hot and annoying, and when the sun gets on it, it's _agonizing_, and unlike _you, _I can't walk around without it on," she grumbled, pointing her spoon at his naked torso.

He lowered his bowl and shrugged at her, "No one said you couldn't. For the thousandth time, I do not care for the likes of Fae women."

"Yeah, so you've said," she left one suspicious eye on him for a moment, then took a sip of soup. A surprisingly tasty medley of flavors hit her tongue. She smacked her lips. Good, not too spicy like last time. Everyday, she was getting better at preparing meals; a surprising talent she would have never thought in a million years she would be forced to hone.

He slammed his bowl down and put his feet on the table when he was done eating. Dried mud cracked off the bottoms onto the surface. "So why would you learn how to control sprites if you were only going to use them for pointless things?" he tipped his chair back so it teetered on its hind legs.

With a glare, she brushed dirt off onto the floor, away from her food. "What did I do to you today, huh? Why are you jumping all over me?"

He shrugged. "Nothing, I'm only saying apparently you went through a whole lot of trouble becoming fluent in another language for no good reason-"

"I use them just fine, Ryu, I only don't know how to _fight_ with them," she interrupted through gritted teeth.

"Correct. You do not know _how_ to use them. Your pampered life in the castle is over Fai'en. You'll be lucky if we ever get a few days of peace like this again. It would be wise of you to use your spare time to think of ways to use what you _do_ know, to protect yourself."

"Tell me how am I supposed to do that if I don't know the first thing about combat?"

He shrugged. "When you met me, you tried to encase me in ice. Moderately impressive."

Nina finished her soup, got up to put (throw) the bowl in a wash basin. "Yes. That was the plan, but as you saw, it didn't work out too well."

"Might've if dragon skin and fire talent didn't get in its way."

"If only they hadn't," she muttered to herself.

His dragon ears picked it right up. "Now that's not very nice."

She blew air up into her mangy bangs and stifled a frustrated scream of 'you're one to talk!' "You know, we should get going, Drogen's not getting any closer with us standing here." She crossed her arms tight. She was done him with him and his attitude. She couldn't _wait _to find his stupid dragon town and get rid of him!

"No traveling until we are completely healed. I do not wish your boyfriend to kick me while I'm down, if that's alright with you." Her eyes traveled back to his torso. The wounds Ethan inflicted on him were smaller blotches of scales now, but were still prominent on his olive skin. Underneath her chain mail, a shoulder full of the same scales still throbbed, as did the slits in her palms. "Not to worry, a few more sunsets and we'll be off to rid ourselves of one another. Don't think I am not also looking forward to it."

She pursed her lips and jumped into the air. She didn't have to sit here and listen to this. "I'm going outside."

"Let me catch you trying to leave the tree again, and you'll lose that privilege."

Nina stuck her tongue out at him and flew up, past a few more floors built into the middle of their gigantic hollowed out tree filled with dead leaves, bird and animal nests, and came out at an opening in the roof. She perched on a branch just below it, and sat back against the tree's massive trunk with a snort. In front of her, clumps of leaves with little white flowers ruffled in a warm late afternoon breeze. Birds and chipmunks played about in the branches near her. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her knees.

Ryu was such a _bastard _to her all the time...and for what? Because she was a Wyndian? Everything she did wrong, had her pinned as a 'useless bird'. She didn't know what had happened to him or why he was sealed or even when, for Goddess sakes. And either way, he was wearing Wyndian armor when she found him... If he hated her people and country so much then how come he apparently served it?

Her brow furrowed when she thought about that a little more. When would Wyndia have ever had a _dragon _fighting for them anyway?

She shrugged to herself, stumped. If her country ever had control of anything with power like the Kaiser, it would have been in the history books...right?

Asking was out of the question. Talking to him was akin to self torture. Every remark coming out of his mouth towards her dripped with sarcasm. Conversations with him always ended up in a yelling match she was then later scolded for, and forget it if he happened to give her one of his silent stares with those eyes...

She shuddered at the thought. He still scared the hell out of her at sometimes; no matter if he had a good motive notto hurt her. He was so animal-like in some of his mannerisms, so cold... He could prowl around in complete silence; she was never sure _when_ she was being watched.

She tried to leave the tree one night to fly, when her mind was too cluttered with thoughts of Ethan's leg and soldiers with bones sticking out of their heads to sleep, but never made it off of the roof. He had gone from dead asleep on the bottom floor to right in front of her astonished face seconds before she lifted off, shaking his head disapprovingly, locking those pale orbs unnervingly on her. They were enough to stop her in her tracks, like a mouse trapped in the gaze of a snake ready to strike. There was no befriending that monster, and she didn't think she'd ever want to.

Tears wet the edges of her eyes and she rubbed them on her knees. What she wouldn't give to have Chasta here right now...

If Drogen didn't exist, would she ever see her best friend again?

No, she couldn't think like that, she had to believe...had to keep holding onto that tiny thread of hope Chasta _didn't _think she was a monster like Ethan did. She quietly sobbed into her pants fabric.

Gods, she just wanted her _life _back...

* * *

The night sky above castle Ludia's courtyard was alive with flashes of white light streaking through the air like shooting stars.

"No, no! The target over _there_, Lissa!"

_Crackle! _"No, not the gazebo!"

_Crash! _"...or the gates..."

_Zip! _"_Yeeeeeoooooowwww_!"

"...or the gardener..."

Lissa dropped to lacy, black stockinged knees. "It's too ha~rd, Vahn! I can't control this damn ring at all!" Her right hand harboring the glowing ring twitched.

Vahn grasped his forehead. Handmaidens rushed to help a slightly toasted, but generally okay gardener back into the castle, out of danger. "Stand up and try again."

"I don't wan~na!"

The blonde prince pointed downwards, and a patch of ground in front of her burst into flames. She jumped to her feet instantly. "Try. Again," he growled.

"Alright, Alright," she muttered, dusting herself off and turning around. In front of her, a life-sized human dummy dangled from a low branch in one of the courtyard trees. She pushed her feet apart, and pointed at it. The magic ring flashed, and a jolt of electricity burst from the tip of her finger. There was a _crackle _like lightning and Lissa was thrown back hard on her rear end. A white beam of light streaked just past the dummy and singed its arm. Lissa rubbed at her backside. "Look! I hit it! Is that good enough to stop for the night?" she asked, throwing Vahn a wide smile.

"P-prince Vahn, I have important information for you!" a strained voice called from behind the prince.

It was a good thing. Vahn was practically biting through his lip to keep from frying his idiotic excuse for an apprentice. He took a deep breath, and turned to see his acting adviser rushing his way, chubby cheeks rosy with effort. "Yes?"

"S-sire, I have word the Angel has been seen near Tantar!" the man wheezed, bending over and clutching his knees to catch his breath.

"Are the wolfmen mobilizing?"

"I'm not sure...but Wyndia's also called on the AG. Are you wanting to contact them yourself-?"

"Who did they send?" Vahn interrupted, glancing over at Lissa. The girl was poking a beetle skittering on the ground near her.

"The S-slayer of Liordon, sire."

His pale blue eyes widened. "_Her_? Gods, she'll rip my love into pieces! Lissa!"

She jumped up, afraid he might light her on fire if she didn't. "Y-yes, Vahn?"

"We aren't stopping until you hit that target correctly!"

"What? Are you _serious_? I don't wanna...! N-no...no no wait, I'm sorry! Vahn, I said I'm _sorry _alright!'?, _stop_ pointing that thing at me!" Lissa squealed, eyes on Vahn's menacing finger.

"Get to work," he said slowly, lowering his hand. "If we are too late, and that," he shuddered. "Unstable _bitch_ finishes her off... You better hope execution is the _worst _that happens to you."

Lissa blinked at him, suddenly at a loss for words.

"Sire, it doesn't matter...just as long as she's dead, right?" the old man asked.

"Actually, it _does_ matter." Vahn turned his head up, gazed at Elanaar's two beautiful moons casting their soft teal and emerald lights down onto the earth. "I have decided this is true love...and I will do absolutely anything to have her in my arms again, no matter those silly black wings."

He thought back to her wriggling beneath him, smelling and tasting like the classiest beauty should. He'd tried to drown out his longing with a different woman every night since he lost her, but none came anywhere near exciting him like those few magical moments the winged girl was in his hands.

His adviser's jaw dropped. "Th-that's crazy, she's...she's the Angel of Death! Wait until your father hears about thi-"

A single white dart of magical energy suddenly _zipped _through left side of the old man's body.

"Absolutely anything..." Vahn murmured, lowering a smoking finger, and catching the lifeless robed bag of fat in his arms.

Lissa stared at her prince, bright blue eyes wide as saucers, hands shaking at her sides.

"Now...how about you try that training dummy again while I go let someone know about this terrible accident?" Vahn asked, looking back at her, flashing an award winning smile.

* * *

Nina blinked once. Twice.

Instead of crimson, this time, the fuzzy looking distorted dream hallway was white. The Wyndian stood alone in the middle of it, peering down at endless doors lining the walls for miles.

Her eyes went to the floor. It wasn't moving. She reluctantly placed a hand on one of the walls. No creepy crawlies under the surface there either. Was all this due to the Kaiser's mysterious absence? Curiosity drew her eye to the nearest door. If so...what kind of rooms would these be? Her hand encircled a cool brass knob and gripped it tight. No Kaiser meant no murderous shadows coming after her...right? Hand shaking, she slowly turned it and pushed the door open.

A study in an old stone walled castle greeted her. Drogen, she presumed, after that being the only other stone castle she had ever seen. Further proof was draped over a desk in the corner; a deep royal blue cloth with a silver embroidery of a dragon threaded onto it. Soft light from stubby cream candles in bronze holders sitting atop it, flickered throughout the room, over a large globe in another corner, hundreds of monstrously thick novels jam packed in multiple bookshelves, and tapestries lining the gray walls depicting prehistoric-like models of white and black dragons. Through an open window with dark blue curtains, red sunlight pooled on a large, circular blue rug in the middle of the floor.

Nina started to walk over it to one of the tapestries on the wall to take a closer look at its ancient looking art, when the room's real door creaked open slowly. Normal eyes would have perceived the entrance possessed, but the Wyndian's 'special vision' clearly saw a stealthed child Ryu creep inside and shut it behind him gently. He came out of the shadow realm near one of the bookshelves panting heavily, clutching his arm.

Nina's eyes went to a large, deep purple bruise underneath where he was holding it. "Ryu? What happened to your arm?" she asked. He paid her no notice. Memory Ryu, she realized.

"_WHERE DID YOU RUN OFF TO, BOY!'?" _a male voice suddenly boomed, sounding like it was right outside the door.

All the blood drained from the little boy's face, and he shuddered so hard, he stumbled. Catching himself quickly with a small, frightened gasp, he fell back into the shadows just as the door burst open.

Nina turned to see a tall, well dressed, pale skinned man looking in his early thirties, with a clean shaven face and long navy hair tied into a low ponytail in the back, storm into the room, growling angrily to himself and darting around the brightest green eyes she had ever seen. He stomped over to the desk, and threw the chair sitting under it across the room against the wall, inches from where she was standing. Books and tapestries clattered noisily to the floor. She squealed and hurried over to the corner near where little memory Ryu was huddling.

"You're in here, you little dark _bastard..._" His rasp chilled Nina's bones. He bent down, peered underneath the desk. "I can _smell _you!" He stood and grabbed the edge of the furniture. Roaring like a wild beast, he sent it flying into another wall.

Beside Nina, the little boy gasped out a sob, then hurriedly clamped both hands over his own mouth, eyes bulging.

The man instantly turned his head towards them, eyes wide and nostrils flaring. Nina's heart stopped.

"Sire! Sire! Are you alright? What in the _world_ is the matter Tristram!" another clean shaven blue haired man – this one younger with short, spiky hair- rushed into the room. He gasped and stomped out a small fire the candles on top of the desk created when they fell on what was left of it.

The maniac Nina now knew as Tristram turned away from them, and her heart lurched back into motion. He paused, took a deep, ragged breath. "He has Fyrion's blood running through him..." His fingers came up, grasped the bridge of his nose. "...all because of that _whore_!"

"Sire, w-what are you talking about?"

"Ryu," Tristram's lips curled into a sneer above large fangs, "is that bastard _Fyrion's_ son!" He whirled and punched the wall. Cracks spread through the stone like his fist had struck thick glass.

The younger man shook his head in disbelief. "F-Fyrion? Th-that's impossible! H-how?"

"I don't know, Nyveh," Tristram growled. "But the little brat stealthed. He _stealthed _in front of me!"

Nyveh bit his thumb. "...Well, Ryu _is _darker than most...I know he loves to go outside, but so does Ana...and his eyes _are _a peculiar shade." the hand dropped. "W-wait he, he knows how to _stealth_?"

"Sereina thinks me a damn fool!"

"This is bad! So very, very, _very _bad...!"

The boy whimpered beside Nina. Her heart melted when she looked down at him. He was in worse shape than when the Kaiser was before him poised to rip away his sanity.

Tristram paced angrily back and forth across the room, sniffing.

"W-we have to kill him Tristram," said Nyveh nervously, "If he ever transforms, we might all be done for-"

"I want him _and _Fyrion dead."

"The boy is easy, but we released Fyrion from the dungeon only a few days ago. We can't just-"

Tristram was in Nyveh's face before he could finish. He gathered the young man's maroon tunic front in his fist and lifted him off of his feet. "I said I want them _both _dead! Do you hear me!" he snarled, shaking him. "Do I make myself _perfectly _clear!'?"

"Y-y-yes sire!" Nyveh stuttered. Tristam tossed him to the roughly to the floor.

"Off with you!" he roared. Snapping his mouth shut, he scrambled to his feet and hurried from the room.

Nina's blood froze. Tristram's wild eyes again swiveled in their direction. She knew he was only a fragment of Ryu's memory within her, and there was nothing he could do to hurt her...but the look of _hatred _on his face... It took everything she had to tear her vision away from a somehow even scarier pair of dragon eyes than Ryu's.

She looked back to the child, who was trembling harder now than she had ever seen anyone shake out of fear; including herself. "Oh Ryu..." she murmured, finding herself reaching out to him. "You poor thing..." Instead of consoling, her hand went straight through his shoulder.

"I'll kill you both in front of her...yes..._that's _what I'll do..." Tristram hissed, coming closer.

The boy suddenly sucked in his breath, and broke free from his shackles of fear. He darted swiftly through shadows to the other side of the room near the window and slid to a stop. Tristram's head snapped in his direction. Nina's heart skipped a beat. He was only a little kid! How was he supposed to escape?

Then, the boy of probably no more than eight years surprised her. He jumped onto the window sill, and pulled off the hunter green cloak hugging his shoulders. He rubbed it on his forehead and neck to soak up as much sweat as he could, balled it up, and tossed it hard across the room.

Tristram caught it in the air before it went past him. Fabric faded into view in his hand, and he sniffed it. "You think you're so damn smart, do you?" Ryu dropped out of the window, just as Tristram leaped by a bewildered Nina and landed on the sill. "You're _dead _boy!" he screamed, jumping out after him.

She ran to the window and peered out, grasping warm, sunlit stone in her hands. Nothing. No Tristram, no Ryu. Her wide eyes frantically scanned the castle rooftops. She lost both of them _that _fast?

"There's nothing you could do, even if you tried."

Nina pulled her head back inside. Behind her, a slightly older, very familiar child Ryu, was standing in the other doorway framed by her dream hallway's fuzzy white walls. "Th-that man..." she swallowed. "H-he was...?"

"A man I thought was my father until that day." Bits of red-orange light lingering from the setting sun turned Ryu's eyes into molten gold.

"He...you..." Her eyes again went outside. "You were so scared of him..."

Ryu shrugged. "I suppose you felt the same, when you were told you were to be executed for a reason beyond your control."

"It's not the same," she shook her head slowly. "I'm nineteen. You...What were you...? Seven? Eight?" she looked back at him. "I can't imagine..."

He smirked. "Fate does not always smile upon the innocent, Fai'en. This you know as well as I."

She tried to think back. What kinds of things was she doing at eight? Blurs of tea parties with Chasta and games of tag with Ethan flashed through her mind; certainly nothing like running from a monster screaming for her death.

"We need to get out of here. I'm sure 'I' won't appreciate you snooping around too much in our business."

"What do you mean?"

Child Ryu nodded, crossing his arms. "My body. Me. The rest of my soul."

Nina stared at him. "You mean...I'm not...dreaming you up? You're...Ryu's soul?"

"The part of it inside of you, yes."

"So you...are Ryu."

"In a sense, yes."

"I'd rather talk to you any day," she said, sighing. "Your body is a real jerk to me, you know."

The boy shrugged. "Maybe one day, I'll show you why."

Nina's scowl softened. "Really?" There was something worth knowing! "Why not now?"

"Unfortunately, you're about to wake up."

The ground shook, and she lost her footing on stone crumbling away all around her. Cracks spread through the room, the sky, the _air._ Ryu stepped back through an undamaged door into an untouched hallway, a small smile on his lips. "Prove to me you deserve to know something like that, Fai'en."

Nina watched his image crack in front of her, and realized just as he burst away into blackness, that the dragon's memory had been fully in Draconian...and she somehow understood every single word of it.

* * *

_Beep, Beep, Beep-bloop! Beep, Beep, Beep-bloop!_

What the hell was that _noise_?

Nina groaned and wrapped her pillow around her head. "Ryu what _is _that?"

_Beep, Beep, Beep-bloop!_

She sat up, looked wearily around. "Ryu?" She brushed a thick, wavy blonde strand out of her face. No dragon in sight. "Ryu~!" She cried up into the tree. No answer but birds flying around the top floors.

_Beep, Beep, Beep-bloop!_

Wait a minute, that was starting to sound familiar. Nina shook more sleep from her head and listened again to a tune of electronic beeps that promptly skipped her heart.

Chasta's communicator! She thought she had lost it!

It sounded like it was right underneath her. She jumped up excitedly and tore the mattress off the floor. Sure enough, embedded into the ground, was the communicator Chasta had given her, flashing and beeping indications another was trying to make contact with it. She plucked it from soil and held it gingerly in her hands. But how? How had it survived everything?

"Ah, I see you've found your machine box bracelet," Ryu said, materializing in the window. Nina threw the gray box up into the air in fright. "I forgot to give it back to you."

She caught it clumsily with a series of juggles. "I really wish you wouldn't just _appear_ like that!" she cried, glaring at him.

"I thought you could see me in either realm?"

"It doesn't matter if you don't make any noise!"

Ryu smirked. "Oh?"

She was too curious about the box to continue back and forth, "Where did you get this? Did they not take it off of me before the execution?"

"You were covered in so much grime from your jail cell, and amidst all the chaos...I doubt they noticed it on you."

"I don't remember ever taking it off..."

"That's because I did when I bathed you. Technology is not supposed to get wet, right?"

"Tech-? Oh, I see what you mean, yeah you're right...-wait, when you _what_!'?"

The dragon frowned at her reddening face. "I changed your clothes in Wyndia, I bathed massive amounts of blood off the both of us. You would have been eaten alive by insects in the night if I hadn't, we've gone over this."

"B-but...I wasn't really aware...I..._you_..."

"Anyhow, didn't your mate give that to you? The brunette one?" He pointed to the communicator.

"Yes, but...d-don't you try and change the subject!"

"Now maybe you can talk to her and stop keeping me up at night with your excessive whimpering."

Nina made a face at him. "My 'whimpering'? What are you talking about?"

Ryu nodded. "You're like a newborn pup. You go on and on in your sleep every night about her. Chasta is it?"

Her cheeks flared harder. "I...cry...for Chasta?"

"Yes. Her and the swordsman."

"E-every night?"

"Every night."

The Wyndian felt her ears light on fire. "W-well...I...I miss them alright!'?" she cried, looking away from him sharply.

"Save it for your box." he turned around in the window. "I'll be right back with breakfast. I only came back up because I heard you screaming for me, which by the way is something you _do not _need to be doing." He hopped down out of sight before her pillow hit the side of the tree. Some sticks and rocks followed.

She was furious. She knew -although chose to forget- he had changed her clothes, but _bathed _her? No, _them_!'?

Suddenly a memory flashed in her mind of a nasty bug bite she got during their stay in No Man's forest because she forgot to clean blood off of her arms after being too close to Ryu making a kill.

His soul was taking his side huh?

She sighed. Alright, she got it. So he was right. He was _always _right.

_Beep Beep Beep-bloop!_

The communicator! Only that idiot dragon would make her forget about something so important!

She took a deep breath and peered down at its screen. It was flashing the word 'INCOMING' at her. Someone was trying to contact her again? She couldn't remember what button Chasta told her to use. She pushed some random ones, and a map of the Eastern Lands flickered into view. "No, I don't want the map! Wait..." In the top corner, a dot -she assumed that was her- flashed, and in the bottom... Her eyes widened. Another one sat at the edge of No Man's Forest and the Grasslands.

She stared at it for what seemed like ages, confused. Was this thing broken? There was no way Chasta could have made it through that hell of a forest; even flying over it would have taken more than a day straight. Her heart pounded.

Could she possibly have talked some sense into Ethan and they were now heading to save her from the dragon all by themselves?

She pressed some more buttons. She had to find out!

The first few warranted nothing, not even wrong menus. Nina shook it, pressed more buttons. Again, nothing. She sighed and was about to turn it off when the speaker suddenly crackled with static. "N...i...na...? Is...th...a..t...you...?" It was broken and hard to understand, but it was a female voice saying her name, and that was all she needed.

"Yes!" she cried, tears in her eyes. "Chasta? Chasta, I've missed you _sooooo_ much! How in Elanaar's moons did you get through No Man's Forest?"

"...w...ant...to...see...y...ou..."

"Want...to see me?" Her spirits rose to the sky. "Yes! Yes, of _course _you can see me! When? Where?"

"T...om...orrow...ni...ght... I...co...me...to...see...y...ou... No...d...ra...gon..."

No dragon? "You want to see me...without the dragon?"

"N...o...dra...gon..." Chasta repeated, and the signal cut out.

Nina stared at the communicator. Chasta was coming tomorrow night to meet her? It sounded too good to be true, but she was almost positive that was her voice. Who else would it be?

The 'no dragon' request was odd, but upon giving it more thought, she decided Chasta was probably too frightened to visit her with him present after seeing the huge dragon at her execution. Her brows furrowed. It was going to be a hard one to fulfill.

Ryu appeared again in the window sill suddenly, front side splattered with blood, gripping a small rabbit in his jaws. Nina screamed and tossed her communicator up into the air for a second time. "What did I just tell you about being so loud?" he scolded, taking the animal from his mouth.

"Stop _doing _that then!" she cried, heart pounding painfully against her ribcage. He didn't hear her conversation just now, did he? He looked like he was eying her suspiciously. Then again he always looked like that.

Geez, she was being _way_ too paranoid.

"Come, lets make breakfast," he said. He put the rabbit back into his mouth and hopped onto a ladder leading to the next floor.

She nodded nervously and followed behind him, fastening the communicator snugly onto her arm.

* * *

Ice blue eyes narrowed. A tongue ran over cherry lips. "Too easy," purred a voice like honey.

* * *

Dreamroot.

Nina wondered how much it would take to knock out a thing like Ryu.

Wild potatoes, mushrooms and chunks of deer meat bobbed about in water furiously frothing in the cauldron beneath her.

It really was the dragon's fault for reminding her of the herb last night, when he threw a handful of it at her and told her to take it to give him a 'Ladon forsaken moment of peace.' For the life of her, she couldn't remember what they had been fighting about; once that root was in her hands, the gears began to turn.

Anxious amber eyes swiveled over to a neat pile of minced greens lying on the counter beside her. To try and fool his nose, she mixed in an abundance of green onion stems.

Outside of the kitchen window, the sky was a blanket of dark gray. Heavy winds rattled the top of the tree house, the animals above skittered nervously about.

Ryu was gone investigating a pack of wolfmen he caught wandering too close to their hideout when he was out hunting yesterday's dinner. She was glad. No way in hell could she have done this with those eyes boring into her back.

After checking her surroundings for hazy, violet sneaky dragons, she quickly sprinkled half of the greens into a bowl, adding the rest after she sloshed soup into it. She stirred it, made a face at how it was all clumping up onto the vegetables and meat in a very noticeable manner. Hopefully he downed the whole thing in one gulp like he did everything else he ate.

She washed off the spoon and poured herself a bowl, garnishing it with heaps of green onion stems, just in case he actually looked at his food long enough to notice the heavy seasoning. Hands shaking, she made sure she remembered which bowl was which, and set them both on the table. She sat down and took a slurp of her own, grimaced at the strong oniony taste.

A _thump _beside her jostled her heart into overdrive. Shadow's melted off of Ryu's body. "I couldn't find anything," he grumbled when he was in full view, plopping down in the other chair at the table with a sigh. Nina tried to nonchalantly keep an eye on him. "The bottoms of those clouds are going drop out any minute now. Maybe they won't come after us in such a storm." He was looking towards his bowl now... She raised a trembling spoon to her mouth.

He looked towards _her_ bowl. Sniffed. His brow furrowed, her heart skipped painfully. She had to keep reminding herself not to bite her lip. Could he tell? Could he smell the root even through all of the onions?

"Smells...like a lot of onions," he said, picking his bowl up. Nina gripped her spoon so tight her knuckles turned white. "Another experiment?"

She swallowed. Keep it short, she told herself. Under no circumstances could she stutter. She jammed food into her mouth. "Whaa...you dun 'ike onions?" she mumbled while chewing.

He shrugged, said, "Nah, I didn't say that," and tipped the bowl up at his mouth. Nina stared at his throat moving with his huge gulps.

Success!

Now all she had to do was wait, and hope she used enough.

No sooner did he set his bowl down onto the table did a funny look cross his face. He cocked his head, licked his lips, furrowed his brow harder than before. "Wait..." he picked his bowl back up, sniffed it. She watched his pale eyes suddenly widen and go straight to her. "Do I smell _dreamroot_?" he snarled, baring his teeth at her. "You would _drug _me!'?"

Nina jumped up from her chair. He tried to do the same, but the root was already taking effect. He stumbled and grasped the table for support. "Ladon...how musshh...di' yo use..." he slurred.

"You don't understand!" she cried. "There's something I have to do without you!"

He was trying to focus on her, but his angry yellow eyes kept stubbornly rolling back into his head. His legs gave out beneath him. "Y...You...id'ot bird..." he dropped to his knees, then the floor. "W...wolfmen...will k...kill you..." He grew quiet.

Nina stared at him for a good minute or so before cautiously bending down and waving her hand in front of his face. No response. She pulled his red cloak from around his shoulders and threw it over her own. Thunder cracked, sending her adrenaline pumping and the animals on the top floors scattering about. "I'm sorry, Ryu," she said combing her hair with her fingers as best as she could and tying it back into a knot. "But, for my sanity, I _have _to see Chasta!" She pulled part of the cloak up over her head and jumped out of the window.

* * *

Lightning flashed. Thunder shook the forest. Clouds as dark as night let loose their fury.

Rain pelted through Ryu's cloak, soaking Nina to the bone in seconds. It was coming down too hard for her to fly; she was forced to trudge through thick mud with one bare foot in the direction her communicator was telling her Chasta was waiting.

Chasta...with her stories and her jokes that always had Nina laughing so hard she cried.

She wanted nothing more than to have that again. To be able to laugh until she cried...with no worries...no sins...

The communicator beeped. She looked down at it. On the map of the Grassland Regions, her and Chasta's dots were now overlapping. She peered again in front of her through the rain. That meant her friend was just over that hill! She broke into a run.

Maybe this was the part where she was saved and _Good _things started to happen... Where there was someone else in this world willing to help her try and get rid of this plague upon her soul so she could return to her normal, happy self...

She reached the top of the hill, and her blood froze solid in her veins.

Water fell down in sheets, plowing her and the ground with a deafening roar, but it was nothing compared to the roar of her own heartbeat in her ears.

Standing alone waiting for her in a clearing, was Ethan.

Her stomach was on the ground. Surely any second now he was going to dash up the hill with a speed she couldn't possibility comprehend and take her head off before she could blink.

But he didn't. Instead, he did something that made her heart lurch for a different reason. He unsheathed both of his swords, brought them out in front of him, and dropped them to the ground.

She bit her lip and felt it again, him grasping at her heartstrings, pulling her, begging her...

Her friend, her love, spread his arms out, and all her inhibitions fell away with the rain. "Ethan!" she cried splashing towards him through the mud, dragging heavy soaking pants. She jumped into his arms. "Ethan, you understand!" she sobbed in common, wrapping her arms around his neck and gripping him as tight as she could. "You understand I'm not a monster!" She felt his arms around her, he pressed her close to him. "Please say you're here to take me away...," she pleaded, staring up at his dark, beautiful eyes. "Please Ethan..."

He touched his forehead to hers. "Nina..." he murmured.

Her heart fluttered. Did he...actually call her 'Nina?' Before she knew what was happening, she was kissing him, and to her amazement, she felt him kissing gently back.

Nothing mattered. Not the rain, not the dragon...the only thing occupying her mind was Ethan, and his loving touch. Ethan and his warm, soft...quivering lips?

Something was wrong. Nina pulled away. "Ethan what's-?"

He grasped the back of her head and brought it to his shoulder. "I truly am sorry, Nina...," he whispered into her ear. "It'll be over soon, I promise."

She blinked through water pouring down onto both of them. "Eth-?"

Metal unsheathed. Ethan gripped her tight and with shaking hands, slid a knife deep into her back.

* * *

**A/N: **Some of my punctuation might look funny, i.e anything with a "!" and a "?" together. I have to write it "!'?" or it doesn't show up when I upload it onto the site. I need to go back to some of my other chapters and fix this, since I've only just now noticed it. I use Open Office...so I'm not sure what the problem is.

Tytyty for all the great reviews! As always, they keep me revved up to continue! I'm glad people liked Ryu and Ethan's fight scene =3 Hopefully next time I try my hand at some action, it'll be way better!


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

_We All Have to Do Things in Our Lives We Don't Want to Do_

**Get up, you filthy mongrel!**

Ryu wrenched open eyelids weighing more than the entire world. Splotches of nameless colors pulsed, overlapped, made strange, incomprehensible patterns across his vision. There was too much haze, too much anguish to think; something was tearing through the left side of his lower back. He clenched his teeth, his fingers bit hard into the wooden floor he was lying on.

**I said _GET UP_!**

Impossibly he rose, swaying, trembling onto unstable feet. Warm, wet liquid trickled down the back of his leg. What in Ladon's fury was causing that pain? Shadows muscled their way past his drunken stupor, grating a sigh sending needles pricking every inch of his skin.

_**This **_**is what you allow to happen in my absence?**

Ryu's head tilted back, stringy bangs slid away from wide, vacant eyes. Quick, short gasps sputtered through his elongating fangs."It...hurts..."

**Very well.**

Scales dove into his wound, and life once again sparked within his orbs. They immediately rotated, attempted to gather in his surroundings. The sound of rain pounding relentlessly onto the tree house roof rushed into his ears, along with winds howling through the floors above him. He slowly reached back, ran fingers over hard, wet scales. Shaking digits returned covered in crimson. The gentler, but still pulsing agony was something he could finally distinguish now: a stab wound, and a viciously deep one at that. He took a step forward and tripped over his own feet back down onto the floor. His brain was having trouble sending the correct signals to the correct limbs.

Without a doubt, he knew the only reason he could move anything at all was due to the Kaiser lending (or rather forcing him to take) his hand. Dreamroot did wicked things to your body if taken in large quantities, and that imbecilic, little winged bitch made sure there was enough of it in his system to keep him a vegetable for days. He'd teach her a lesson when he saw her...

**No gratitude for me, half-breed? Your wound would not have been enough to wake you.**

Ryu pulled himself to his knees, groaning loudly. Why could he feel this? It didn't make sense!

**You experience what the Keeper experiences, regardless of your state.**

Wonderful.

Another icy sigh flowed through his being. **It's quite the bothersome chore keeping you functioning with this mess clouding your blood, you realize.**

"I...did not ask for your help..." Ryu muttered, teeth chattering.

**As if there was a need to.**

The dragon fumbled for the window sill beside him, managing after a few tries to grasp it firmly enough to pull himself up. Long, dark crimson nailed hands flashed before his eyes, and held them until scales began rippling slowly up his twitching, involuntarily flexing arm.

Like always, accepting the Kaiser's hand was a double edged sword.

Ryu's jawline hardened, he felt the muscles in his back and abs tighten. Urges to kill, mangle, _destroy __everything _picked dangerously at the surface of his mind. He closed his eyes and took a deep, ragged breath. Somehow he was going to have to keep a level head, save Nina from whatever trouble she had gotten her blundering self into, and hope to Ladon the plan _didn't _involve him transforming and giving more than a hand to that greedy demon bastard.

What a godsdamned amazing day.

**Yearning for peace is so _boring, _why do you continuously fight what beauty you are capable of? **

"Shut up...!" spat Ryu, climbing clumsily out of the window and splashing down onto all fours on the muddy ground below. He could see, smell nothing but _rain_, but it didn't matter, with the Kaiser, he could feel exactly where she was; it was almost tangible, the connection between them. "Don't die yet, Fai'en," he growled through water and more waves of sharp, stabbing pain. He weakly lifted his hand, and a thin layer of shadows rose to abide by his bidding. They snaked around him, tried to cover his entire body. In the end, he was left looking like a flickering, ghostly image of himself. He sighed, but there was no time to get angry about it, the wound in his back was opening up again.

Draconian curses were lost in the torrential downpour around him as he bounded off awkwardly into the forest.

* * *

_"I did it because I knew when I returned...I would never be able to think about you like that ever again." _

Why didn't she listen? Why did she continuously ignore the blatant signs, fight so hard to chase something that was never more than a naive little girl's fantasy of a princess and her knight?

Nina gripped the back of Ethan's drenched cloak, tried to speak. Nothing. Nothing but water in her gaping mouth. Nothing but cold steel deep inside of her. Nothing but tears and _pain._

Both legs crumpled and she collapsed into him. He splashed down to his knees with her, still holding the knife securely in her back. Strained whispers sputtered out of her colorless, quivering lips. "Shh..." Ethan whispered.

She was so ignorant, so _foolish_! Right now Ryu was lying on the kitchen floor bleeding to death for no reason...all because she was a godsdamned _idiot._

Blood loss muffled the storm in her ears, tunneled the vision before her eyes. She could hold onto him no longer, her shaking hands slipped from his cloak.

Ethan rocked her gently, petting the back of her head like he gave a damn. "We all have to do things in our lives we don't want to do, Nina..." his whisper in her ear was drifting far, far way...as if it were a cloud. Her arms fell to her sides.

"Are you _done _yet?" A sharp female voice pierced through the blackness beating down onto her from all sides. "Kill her and let's be through with it already!" It was familiar...where had she heard it before? A drooping amber eye tried to focus over Ethan's shoulder on a tall, pale woman standing with her arms crossed behind him.

"You're supposed to be watching for the dragon."

"That was before you decided to _sweet _talk her to death, darling."

"We had a deal, Ivory!" Ethan snapped back at her. "This is what I chose!"

She shifted her weight to one leg, flicked vibrant blue bangs out of her face. "Really? Because she's still alive," she said, narrowing her eyes.

"Damn scales keep clotting her blood and trying to push the knife out," he said, coaxing it further in. Nina's mouth wrenched open in silent anguish.

"So rip it through her! Why are you being so godsdamned gentle!'?"

"I don't want to hurt her any more than I have to!"

Ivory stepped up, stomped a silver stiletto heel hard into a muddy puddle. Ethan's dark eyes flickered behind Nina. "Don't make me laugh Ethan, I've seen your work enough to know you _don't _have a soft spot for women," the faerie woman snarled, reaching towards the girl's long, white neck.

Ethan caught her wrist quickly in one of his hands, and let go of his knife to grasp a fistful of hazy, blue hair out of the air in his other. Nina fell back into hazy arms. "So there really _is_ a connection between you two...," Ethan observed, eying Ryu's transparent body coming into full view in his grip. "Hard to disappear with a knife in your back, eh?"

Ryu panted hard at him, his long navy hair plastered across half of his face. One intense yellow eye continuously darted back and forth between Ethan's frown and the faerie girl staring down at him with wonder. Crimson scaled arms pulled Nina's shivering, deathly white body close.

Nina didn't have the strength to turn her head, but she knew it was him, knew it was his arms, his _soul _wrapping around her, protecting her. Ryu was here, in as much agony as her, bleeding just the same, trying to save them both from a situation that could have been easily avoided had she half a brain.

He really _didn't _deserve someone as useless as her.

Ethan shoved Ivory back as a sharp bone suddenly burst out of the side of the creature's left forearm, curved, and covered with the same dark scales as his arms. "You really intend to fight in your condition?" sighed Ethan at him. Ryu snarled and stabbed his blade awkwardly. The Wyndian quickly turned sideways to dodge, and thrust two glowing fingers at the dragon's forehead. Ryu jerked his head back. His hair ripped out of Ethan's grasp; the fingers grazed his shoulder instead.

Ethan leaped back, threw down a small clump of navy. The dragon jumped back too, attempting at the same time to dip back into the shadows. "Oh no you don't!" Ethan cried, snapping the same digits that touched him. His spell ignited, and a concentrated explosion instantly burst open Ryu's shoulder.

The dragon fell back hard to the ground, clutching Nina. Her impact against him pushed the knife still sticking in her through until nearly a third of the blade protruded out of her front. She gurgled out something ghastly. Ryu howled.

Ethan walked forward, relishing his adversary writhing in the mud, screaming out obscenities in his unknown language, clutching what he knew was a mutilated shoulder under that grotesque red clawed hand of his. "It's a shame you're too barbaric to understand me..."

Ryu rolled over and drug his forehand against the ground -spouting out more curses- before sucking in his breath through his teeth and turning to drag himself slowly to Nina. She was lying on her side facing him, large onyx wings splayed out in the mud behind her. She was still...but miraculously, not out. He took his hand from the crispy black flesh barely covering the charred broken bits of what was left of his shoulder to reach out for her. "I hear you, rat bastard..." He growled out in common, surprisingly fluent through his accent. Patterns once again flashed before his vision. The rain pounding down onto his open wounds was pure hell.

"Oh? The wretched beast _can _speak like a civilized man," Ethan commended, lowering his hand and opening it up like a claw. "I suppose it's a good thing. I wanted you to know I didn't intend to deal with you like this," In his palm, a magical sphere of fire flared into existence, burning bright and strong despite the heavy wind and rain. "Magic is...impersonal...but gets the job done quick when you need it to."

Ryu snickered, spitting out the blood relentlessly filling his mouth. "Not like the intimacy of stabbing one in the back, isn't that right, novice swordsman?" The words were pouring out of his mouth, the ideas they were made from translated before he had the chance to think about them in his _own _language. "Or is this all payback for the limb I almost cost you?" his voice was an animalistic growl rumbling deep within his chest and his eyes...

Ethan could have sworn they were yellow before. Now they were...red? Scales crept up the creature's neck, caressed his clenched jawline. "A limb can be affixed back to the body, but my men's souls are not so lucky, _monster_."

"You would have thrown them at me and picked off the girl behind my back," Ryu grimaced. "Do not act so righteous."

Ethan's face formed an ugly scowl. "If I had my way, I'd have my blades at your uncouth throat right now," he seethed. "I'd make you suffer..._beg_ for your worthless life..."

**Let him try, pariah of Ladon's children! Your blades thirst for **_**his**_ **blood, **the Kaiser whispered excitedly in the depths of Ryu's mind. **You want to make him beg for you to not to rip him open and feast on his insides!**

His urge to destroy nearly boiled over. He squeezed his eyes closed and shook his head hard. Not good. Killing this guy would certainly be ideal, but he still was bound by his idiotic promise to the girl not to...and who knew, once he started, would he be able to distinguish Nina from an enemy? When they opened again, he focused a little clearer on the fireball swirling in Ethan's hand, felt the bloodlust deep inside of him suddenly retreat and settle back down into a dull simmer.

Something...was holding the Kaiser back.

Was it...her?

He didn't have time to think about it, he had to concentrate now on what was going on outside of his mind. His body was in no condition to fight -he felt if he bent the wrong way, he felt some of his innards would pop out the hole in his back- and he certainly didn't want to suffer another injury like the one on his shoulder. Scales were rushing to heal, but it would take up to days before he could move that arm again freely. He didn't want to imagine what would have happened if Ethan hadn't have missed his target. The two threats before him were well aware of his fragility; to them, no matter who was holding her, Nina was still in their possession.

"Looks to me like you _are _having your way, Ethan! You're breaking our agreement! I told you I'd allow you to kill _one _and you picked the girl, so that means the dragon is supposed to be _mine_! If you would have hit him with that mess, his brains would be scattered all over the place!" the woman with the shimmering faerie wings who's garments clung to her like a second skin screamed. "You better hurry up, or I'm going to kill them _both_, and don't think just because you promised to let me spend the night with you, you have me wrapped around your little finger-"

Ethan shot a glare in his beautiful partner's direction that actually made her shut her mouth, then curved it back towards Ryu. "For Nina's sake, give up, mongrel. She doesn't need to suffer any more than she is right now."

Ryu pulled himself up onto his hands and knees, laughing cynically. "'For her sake...'" The little Wyndian's glazed eyes stared up at him overflowing with a pain far deeper than her wounds.

He was beyond furious with her. She deliberately drugged him and ran off to another execution with her naïve arms wide open for it to happen. She was a useless, selfish Fai'en too pompous to bother herself worrying about the real issues surrounding her, and time and again, with no regard for consequence, put them both in mortal peril all for..._this_?

He ground his teeth together hard enough to hurt. Yet frustratingly enough, he couldn't bring himself to entertain a thought about scolding her. The girl lying here with the knife of the one she loved sticking in her back didn't need a lesson; she was getting enough of one now. "She really does cry a whole lot for a _coward..._" he growled, directing his anger towards a better cause.

Ethan snorted. "You don't know a thing. This is her best option."

"I don't think she's had an option from the start-" The arm attached to Ryu's broken shoulder folded underneath him, and his face splashed into mud. He slowly pulled himself up with his other one, spitting out blood and dirt. "I don't understand... Every night she cries for you to come save her. _You._ The person trying to kill her the most, and you continue this why, to what gain? She calls you a friend, and you cannot turn your back and look the other way?"

Ethan suddenly wrung his hand out, and the fireball in it dissipated into sparks. Ivory scowled and started to walk forward. He thrust out his arm to stop her. "Stay. Back," he warned firmly.

She crossed her arms. "_Augh, _I'll just stand here in this damn _monsoon, _while you take your precious time figuring out what the hell you're doing..." She kicked the water in a puddle near her, adding loudly, "Be glad your bed excites me more than killing these weaklings does."

He ignored her, looked back at Ryu. "You're wrong. She...I believe she cares for the person I once was to her, and what I can never become." Dark eyes softened on her sprawled out body before him. "It's probably best she doesn't get to know who I really am."

"Right. You seem like a real son of a whore."

Ethan's jaw clenched and his eyes went wide. "Do you realize what kind of people are after her? What the AG _is_!'? I can't look the other way because I _do _care about her! It's my duty _not _to let her be killed by those sort of people!"

"Hey, what do you mean by 'those sort of people', huh?" Ivory huffed. "You used to be one, you remember that?"

"Tell the dragon how you would kill the girl if given the chance."

Her glacial eyes instantly lit up, like a child opening up a extravagantly wrapped birthday present. "Oh! Well, there's _so_ many things..." she cocked her head and touched a finger to her chin, now oblivious to the 'monsoon' raging around them. "Earlier I was going to break her neck, quick and easy, but now I'm thinking if I get another chance...I want to see some blood, _a lot _of blood. I'm pretty ticked off she got a kiss out of Ethan after all. His stingy self hasn't even given _me _one yet since I've seen him...so...it'd probably end up being something torturous for sure. I could...cut off her lips...tear out all the feathers in her wings, maybe cut off a limb or two..." She trailed off, suddenly lost in her own gory universe.

Ethan nodded in her direction. "There are worse. A few _really _enjoy playing with their kills, and her being the Angel of Death would only excite them more," he shook his head, "They won't stop until she's obliterated beyond recognition. It's...best I be the one to finish the job."

"She's an innocent!"

"I watched that 'innocent' rip a man's throat out, summon a dragon that's landing killed over a score of men. There is, without a doubt, a force inside of her not fit for this world! I admit, it truly is unfortunate someone like Nina happened to be the one picked to host such a demon...but who's to question the will of the Goddess?"

Ryu clutched the cloak collar around Nina's neck, running shaking claw like fingers under folds until they touched something metal. He was out of options now, he had to try it. "The will of your Goddess? Or a woman claiming to be such?" he growled darkly.

"She cannot control whatever it is inside of her! It's only a matter of time before a village, a city, a whole damn _country _feels those teeth sinking into its neck-!" Ethan's hand suddenly flew up, and he snatched an arrow out of the air aimed for Ryu. "What the hell?" he asked holding it up. "Tantar?" Five more arrows sunk into the ground around the dragon and Nina.

Ryu leaned over Nina, covering her with his body. Another barrage of arrows rained down. Four lined the ground front of him, two _thunked _into his upper back. He cried out and gripped the ground with all of his might, holding himself up with his good arm, fighting desperately not to collapse.

Ethan whirled around. "What is the meaning of this? I am Wyndia's royal guardian engaged in matters concerning-"

"Sorry, but I'm not too interested in a story there, pigeon. I only have eyes for the Raven Princess."

A ring of six wolfmen emerged from waterfalls of rain to circle around the four of them, bows drawn. Each wore hooded dark green cloaks over studded thick leather armor shining with lines of glowing blue protection runes; all except the one speaking. His cloak was beige and his armor, red runed chain mail. On his back, a runed crossbow bigger than Nina's entire body sat comfortably.

Hazel eyes as commanding as his father's met Ethan's through long sandy bangs. "Hello, I'm Captain Fleet Swiftarrow of Tantar. I believe you and the lovely 'Slayer of Liordon' there are engaged on _my _territory, Sir Von Buren..._without_ clearance may I add.

"My king as well as I believe this is Wyndia's problem. Allow Wyndia handle it," Ethan said, breaking the arrow in his hand and letting it fall to the ground.

Fleet pulled the crossbow from his back and aimed it at Ethan. "Pull the feathers out of your ears, birdie, you are on my family's territory without clearance. You have no jurisdiction to enforce any of your laws here. The raven is mine to take in." He nodded over to his left, and three of his men surrounded the redhead and Ivory. "Besides, rumor has it Wyndia botched its chance in the Grasslands days ago."

"Ethan, say the word and I'll waste these guys," said Ivory licking her lips.

"No, we don't want to start anything with Tantar, Ivory. You are ultimately AG, but right now, you represent Wyndia," Ethan hissed, keeping one eye on Fleet and the other on Ryu crouching over Nina, looking like a wounded dog protecting its master with its last breath. He was hovering barely over her now, legs and arm trembling with intense effort, unnerving red eyes every now and then drooping and closing, only to be snapped wide open again.

"No fun," Ivory pouted. "Hey, watch where you're pointing that thing, puppy," she shoved one warrior's crossbows away after he poked her side with it. The wolf growled curtly at her, and Fleet silenced him with a wave of his hand. He turned and barked orders to the rest of his crew in his races' harsh sounding language.

Ethan's eyes widened. "I agree with killing the dragon, but securing the angel _alive_? What are you planning? The prophecy states she is to be killed!" he cried.

"Why the excitement, Von Buren?" Fleet asked suspiciously, looking annoyed the Wyndian could understand him. "She _will _be killed, but she must be presented to my father first. Afterward, she will be hung in front of Tantar for all to see. This is what my father proclaims, and his will is the will of the forest."

"No, I won't have her put through another public execution!" Warriors thrust their weapons into Ethan's advancing face. "This is not how it's supposed to-"

"Captain Fleet, the dragon and the Raven Princess are..._disappearing_!"

Fleet, Ethan, Ivory, and the rest of the warriors all turned to see Ryu smirking weakly at them, the hand from his bad arm violently shaking as he held up a small, sparkling pin attached to Nina's cloak collar. "Amazing craftsmanship, Merybel," he whispered softly, watching his and Nina's limbs fall away into shimmering dust in the shape of tiny, multicolored stars. "Five hundred years, and it still works. I hope you're still alive to get my thanks."

Screaming wolves, flying arrows, Ethan's yelling... all of it faded away at once into a sparkling nothingness soon taken over by the sweet, numbing blackness of unconsciousness.

* * *

The Kaiser closed weary eyes.

* * *

"They're...gone. They're bloody _gone!_" Fleet screamed. "Find them, _now_!" Wolfmen scattered, forgetting about Ethan and Ivory.

Ethan stood, staring at two large blood and arrow filled puddles in the mud where they just were. "How can this be? He was _right here_! We _had _him!"

"Hmm, what an _interesting_ turn of events," said Ivory slowly, walking forward and hooking an arm through one of his.

"Know something?" He asked looking down at her.

"Something?" she giggled, ice eyes sparkling. "Darling, I know _exactly _where they went."

* * *

Nina was falling, sinking deep into an unending pool of darkness, away from Ethan, Ryu...away from...everything...

Was she dead...?

It didn't matter. Without Ethan, what was the point? She should stay in this blackness forever. At least here there was no more pain...no one else she could harm...

Sinless, guiltless nothingness...

"You shouldn't give up so easily, Fai'en."

That voice... Ryu... Poor little innocent Ryu. Little Ryu she tried to kill _again._

"Don't pity me," she murmured, "I don't deserve it. Let me drift to hell in peace."

A soft chuckle floated closer. "Hell? You may be drifting, but hell is not where you're going. Thanks to the Kaiser, we're alive."

They were alive? She didn't kill them both with her stupidity?

Another chuckle. "No, you haven't managed to do that _quite _yet."

Nina tried to open her eyes, found she could not. They were heavy, so very heavy.

"Easy Fai'en," he soothed. "Sleep is most important now."

Tears streamed through her lids down her face. "I-I...I'm really, _really _sorry, Ryu," she sobbed out. "I made you have to deal with the Kaiser again...I'm so _sorry_..."

A small hand pat her gently on the head. "I know."

* * *

"It was you holding him back, wasn't it?"

White winged Nina looked back at Ryu from her sunlit perch on the edge of one of castle Wyndia's outer walls, winds whipping glistening honey hair back away from her porcelain face. "Yes."

"Why?" he asked bluntly, narrowing his eyes at the blaring sunlight through his own bangs.

"Honestly Ryu, do you really need to ask something like that? It's the _Kaiser_. No one deserves the kinds of twisted feelings he makes you have," the smile already on her lips deepened, "Not even snotty dragons." He stared at her for a long moment, expression unchanging.

She turned back to the the sky and spread out her arms and wings into the winds, looking like an angel bathing in the sun's golden rays. "Besides, you would have done the same for me, right?"

One side of his mouth raised. "That depends. How many times did he kill you?"

He was surprised to receive an equally mischievous crooked line of her lips in return. "Not half as much as you did, and he was hardly so brutal if you can believe it."

Ryu bellowed out a deep, robust laugh. "So now I'm a snotty dragon who's more of a bastard than the Ladon forsaken _Kaiser_?"

She spun gracefully around on her toes to face him. "I also did it because I might have felt a _little _bad for my body's actions..."

"As you should have, but it'll all work out...as long as _they _still exist..."

"So, am I forgiven?"

He crossed his arms and gave her an approving nod of the head. "_You've_ done more than enough to redeem yourself with this and teaching me your language...which I somehow was _very _fluent in when I was talking to your...ah..." he stopped. Ethan wasn't her friend, he never was going to be her friend.

"Yes, I may have had a little something to do with that," she said, cheerful demeanor riding strong. "And as for Ethan...after seeing that knife in my body, I may have also not minded letting you call him all those bad names."

Ryu laughed. "I'm glad one of you has some sense. It doesn't seem like your body has a notion."

"You really should give 'me' a chance," She said, "I'm not as shallow as your closed mind may think about me or my people."

"We'll see, Faien," he said, walking up and standing beside her on the wall, staring out into Wyndia's endless fields glistening brightly. He folded his arms behind his head. "But first I'm going to enjoy watching you sweat explaining yourself to me."

* * *

"So _this _is what Master Ryu is sharing souls with? Look at those stupid, ugly wings..."

"_Shh_, Merybel, you _dummy, _we're not even supposed to be in here!"

"Who are you calling a dummy, _dummy!'?_"

"_You!_ If Ysela sees us..."

"I don't care what Ysela says! She can shove it up her dummy-"

"Merybel _look!_ I think I saw her eye move."

"What are you talking about, I don't see anything...wait, maybe that _was_ an eye twitch..."

"I-I think she's waking up! Let's get _out_ of here!"

"_Fine, _we'll go Carlye, since you're such a scaredy _dummy_."

Two small wisps of wind whisked past Nina's face, ruffling her bangs.

Gently, the Wyndian painfully opened sore eyes and peered through sleep's thick, confusing fog. Who was that talking? Where was she now?

The first thing she noticed, was that she was lying on a cloud. Well, it was a bed, but if she hadn't have looked, she would have been convinced it was one. Sunlight streamed in from a window above her through soft pink waving curtains, lighting flowers and ivy clinging to a ceiling resembling the underside of a...mushroom? In the middle of it, a fan of ivy fashioned into a five petaled flower circulated slowly. She blinked a few times and sat up amidst a pile of mini cloud-like pillows that were literally so light they were floating steadily a few inches above the bed. Before she could start to put together the pieces of one very confusing puzzle, she tossed off her covers to find herself completely naked except for a ring of bandages around her middle. She squealed and quickly grabbed them back up. The excited movement sent a flash of pain down her side, and she cried out, doubling over the side of the bed. Her new angle let her see the pile of clean clothes lying on a small toadstool below her. Minutes later, after cautiously getting out of her -very tall and magical she noticed once out of it- bed, she donned the clothes (a long, blue tunic shirt with short beige pants, large leather belt and boots), and stood staring at herself in a full length mirror on the wall.

Besides the fact the clothes she wore were meant for a teenage peasant boy, she noticed someone had cleaned her. Her unbound hair was soft, straight, and had no leaves, sticks or burrs in it whatsoever. And she _knew _there was mud all over her before... She lifted up her arm, smelled her pit. _Flowers_? She lowered it, making a face, hoping she really did hear a female voice in here before she woke up and wouldn't later find out Ryu had given her yet another unconscious scrub down.

Right...Ryu.

Pangs of guilt assaulted her stomach strong enough to make her want to double over again at her mind's mention of him. In no way was she ready for an encounter so soon; just the thought of him standing there, looking at her with those damn eyes of his, sent shivers one after the other down her spine. Goddess, it was going to be near impossible to get him to forgive her...

She suddenly tasted blood and realized, insides shifting, she had been chewing on the inside of her mouth this entire time. Her body froze and her eyes darted frightfully about her room. The same vines and flowers decorated the walls and she found herself scrutinizing their shadows in the corners. Surely she was still able to see him stealthing...

A dainty cough came from behind her, like a mouse with a cold. Nina turned, and lost any words she might have had.

There, floating in front of her, was a real, live faerie.

Faeries _did _exist, Nina knew they did, but actually _seeing _one was odds on par with getting struck by lightning hundreds of times directly in a row. Like sprites, they lived in a completely different realm from Elanaar, and hardly ever left it unless summoned. It certainly explained her natural, magical room.

This one mimicked exactly every artists' rendition Nina had ever seen of them in books: small, unclothed childlike body (about a third of a normal child's size), vibrantly colored hair (hers was green) reaching past its feet with bangs split into two huge upturned curls at the front held away from the rest of her locks by a large golden headband with a emerald "wind" looking symbol on it. Small tufts of the same colored hair around her wrists and ankles. Shimmering wings extending from the sides of her head behind her beat steadily. Large, pastel green eyes studied Nina wisely, a strange contrast to the obvious youth in its face. "I was advised you were to awaken soon, young Fae. I see it was a correct assumption." Her voice was an ancient Wyndian song floating in the breeze. "You may call me Ysela. I am the Sage of Wind on Matron Flora's council. She wishes with great interest to meet with you, but I was instructed to bring you to see Master Ryu beforehand."

Nina's shoulders slumped with her spirits. "Do we have to?" she asked sheepishly, wondering why he was being called a 'master' by a faerie.

Ysela giggled, floating over to the room's ivy covered door, a trail of tiny sparkling stars dropping off the tips of her green painted toenails. "He said you might say such. Come, he is out fishing near the falls."

* * *

Ysela was explaining how and why her and Ryu ended up in this realm as they walked, but the breathtaking scenery stole Nina's full attention.

Everywhere she looked, light pink, white, and green leaves were constantly falling from trees stretching miles high into a soft pink sky. The air _sparkled_, gave off a dreamlike, fuzzy feeling, reminiscent of the way Vahn's enchanted courtyard looked, but with much rawer magic. The faeries' village consisted of many ivy covered little yellow with white or red spotted mushroom houses looking significantly smaller on the outside than she figured they were on the inside; like the one she had just come out of. Each, had their own gardens flourishing in front of them, overflowing with flowers Nina had never seen, in shades her mind couldn't pin a name to. Some of them were being tended to by other faeries with no bands in their hair, looking up as they passed by. Most smiled and were generally nice...all but a tanned one with bright pink hair furiously sweeping leaves off a walkway leading to her flowers. If looks could kill, Nina would have keeled over right there. She quickly averted her gaze.

They followed an immaculately tended cobblestone walkway to a large stone gate infested with more flowered ivy at the back of the village. There was a rumbling of rushing water in the distance. "The falls are just up that hill," Ysela said pointing a small finger through the gate toward a steep, grassy hill on the other side.

"You mean you aren't...coming with me?"

"He also said you would ask that." the faerie giggled again at her. "I am afraid you are to go alone, as requested."

Nina turned away from the faerie's amused laughter to peer up the hill. Well, here she was. Time to walk into the dragon's den...literally.

"I will be awaiting your return."

The Wyndian lifted herself off of the ground with her wings, glad to see she was strong enough to hover; her joints were too stiff to continue walking. She floated slowly up the hill. What was he going to say to her? Why would he want to talk to her alone? So no one could hear him scream? Her stomach dragged on the ground underneath her floating feet. He was so _angry_ when he realized he had been drugged... What in Elanaar could she possibly say to redeem herself?

All her racing thoughts paused with her at the top of the hill, and fell away into oblivion at the view. Between the trees, the ground formed a cliff over a thundering waterfall. Reds, pinks, oranges, and yellows streaked across a sky sprinkled with stars and dominated by three clearly visible blue, purple and green planets looming above like ancient, ringed guardians.

At the edge of the cliff, against this background of epic proportions, sat Ryu, dangling his feet over the grassy edge, fishing in its raging, spraying waters.

Nina could tell by his long locks easily flowing in the breeze, that he had been cleaned up as well. He pulled his hook out of the water, cast it back in again with an expert flick of his wrist.

The tips of her ears started to burn and she cleared her throat, even though she knew he had to already be well aware of her; his nose wouldn't miss all of this perfume. She could smell him too, a mixture of metal and a fresh, soapy scent she wasn't used to. He didn't turn around, just pulled another empty hook out of the water and cast again.

So he was going to play that game.

She balled her fists and set her jaw, angry he was making her speak first. "I-I know what you're going to say," she started, lower lip quivering, "That I'm an idiot, a worthless, useless, no good 'Fai'en', doing nothing but causing trouble for the both of us..." Tears filled her eyes and she hurriedly wiped them away, taking a deep breath. He still didn't look back. "The...last thing I ever wanted to do was get you hurt, Ryu...I just..."

Ryu cast again. The hook shined against the violet planet, the largest in the sky with light blue energy for rings swirling around its massive body.

"I was wrong in what I did...I was wrong for thinking Ethan could change...that he was ever anything more to me than...than..." she hiccuped, swallowed, lost her words. She settled a glare on the dragon's back. Still he was silent. "Well? Aren't you going to say anything? Aren't you going to belittle me like you always do, tell me how stupid I am for almost getting us killed again? How we should have gotten rid of Ethan when we had the chance? That I made you make a stupid promise... How I'm a complete and utter _failure_?"

Something suddenly caught the dragon's line, and he stood quickly, bracing himself. He yanked it out of the water and attached to it was a dark blue flounder looking fish spanning longer than his arm. It soared over his head and went flip-flopping to the ground behind him.

Nina gaped for a moment at the fish -and his ability to catch something with no bait- then remembered her anger. "So really, you're going to ignoreme?" He turned, paying attention only to the fish. She averted dripping eyes to the ground, gave her lip a nervous bite. She had never seen him angry enough _not _to yell...

Then again, she forced him to invoke the Kaiser, the worst possible thing she could probably ever do to him.

"Your eyes...were red. My stupidity drove you to seek the Kaiser for help, didn't it?" her voice softened and her cheeks burned so hard she was scared for a moment he might feel it too. "No matter how mad I ever get at you...I swear I will never, _ever_ wish the Kaiser upon you..." Ryu reeled his line tight and threw the fish over his shoulder, uttering not a word from his lips. She bit her own again, hot tears streaming freely down her face. "Damnit Ryu! Yell at me, hit me, _something! _I _deserve _punishment for what I did! It's the damn _Kaiser_!"

He walked to the little Wyndian now staring up at him with puffy red eyes through thick bangs sticking to the tears on her cheeks and placed his hand on the top of her head. Her body jolted with a hiccup. "Are you ever going to run off blindly like that again, Fai'en?" he asked her with a gentleness she did not think he was capable of.

She shook her head underneath his hand slowly, unable to stop a sob from bursting out of her.

"Then I don't think there's a need for me to say a thing," he said, patting her and walking with his fish on by.

Nina waited until she couldn't hear his footsteps anymore before exhaling a long, relieved breath. That wasn't near as painful as she thought it was going to be, even though he did force her to yell at herself..._and_ cry like a baby in front of him...

But, In his own way, he had forgiven her, and that was all she was looking for.

She glanced down through vision destroying tears at the communicator strapped to her arm, and sniffled. There was no telling how Ethan had gotten a hold of the other from Chasta...but she wasn't about to let him find them again so easily. She unhooked it, held it firmly in her hand. "Goodbye Ethan," she whispered to it, hiccuping, "The next time we see each other...we'll be enemies." Quivering lips touched metal. "You've proven there's no way around it..."

She tossed it over the cliff as hard as she could into the waterfall's fury.

* * *

Matron Flora was drastically different then any of the other faeries. She was centuries older, and significantly more clothed.

Nina stood with her hands clasped behind her, staring up at the leader of the faeries sitting on her throne – a tremendously tall chair made of vines-, in a room of grass, flowers, and walls made of more thick vines. A gigantic window behind her gave another spectacular view to the realm's magnificent skyline. The Matron's violet hair, heavily streaked with silver, veered from forming into her race's signature bangs; instead they, along with the rest of her locks, rolled out over her long, deep purple robe in waves underneath a tall matching large brimmed, pointed hat. She peered down at Nina, violet eyes distorted and enlarged through her thick glasses. The three faerie sages hovered above and to her sides. Ysela, Mio of the Water, and Ira of the Fire. Ysela was smiling, the other two wore suspicious looks.

The Wyndian grasped the edges of her tunic and curtsied, grimacing at a small stab of pain in her side. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Matron Flora. I am...Prin-" she stopped. Technically she wasn't a Princess anymore, she was Vahn's wife! But surely she was considered an exile by now...so what should she call herself? "N-Nina," she decided, "I am Nina Wynlan of Wyndia." Hell would freeze over before she would ever be 'of Ludia'. "I want to express my deepest gratitude for your graciousness in nursing me back to health. I...don't know what I can ever do to repay you... I did not realize there was anyone out there who would house the Black Wings..."

"This 'curse' on those wings of yours is a product of merging souls with Master Ryu. We are tolerant to anything and everything having to do with him," said Mio, crossing her light blue tufted arms. "Regardless of the silly prophecies the people of your realm believe in."

Matron Flora pushed her glasses farther up her nose. "Not often do we see visitors in our midst. Especially a Wyndian this day and age in excellent standing with our cousins, the sprites. I am very impressed," the Matron may have looked old, but her voice was as clear and rich as Ysela's.

Nina blinked at her. How did she know she could summon sprites?

"In the days you and Master Ryu were healing, a few passed into this realm to inquire your condition. That is unheard of for them to appear for their master without a summon," she said, answering Nina's unspoken question. The other sages eyes began to fill with intrigue. "And you speak the language of magic so fluently. I did not know Master Ryu had such acquaintances. I am honored to say, as Mio stated, any friend of his, is a friend of ours." To Nina's surprise, she bowed to her.

Someone was actually bowing to the Angel of Death.

"More a burden than an acquaintance, but I suppose what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, eh?"

Nina's heart pounded at the sound of Ryu's voice. He walked up and stood beside her. She didn't look over at him.

"This really is quite a mess you've gotten yourself into, Master Ryu. Drogen is many weeks away from your entrance point, and not even we are sure it still exists."

He scratched his head. "Yes, well... Continuing our conversation earlier, I was hoping we could use one of the exit points closer south."

Matron Flora shook her head. "It has been centuries since any faerie has set foot in that part of the mortal world. Tales of unspeakable horrors have circulated since your disappearance. The points were permanently deactivated long ago."

"So you wouldn't have any way of knowing if any dragons actually survived the hell Wyndia unleashed on them."

Nina's shyness melted away. "What are you talking about? Wyndia was never a part of something like that!"

Ryu flicked a slightly annoyed glance at her. "Fai'en, this was way before your time, and I doubt your people took any responsibility for it."

Nina stubbornly shook her head. "But...Wyndia has never started any conflict in history until now against the black wings!"

"The winged race brought on your world's great Dragon Wars. Their second Princess was a warmonger in disguise," Ira said to Nina, then turned fiery eyes at Ryu. "This is something Master Ryu knows first hand."

"But the second Princess was Nyna the Farseer...she united the world for peace-"

"She united the world against the dragons, Fai'en," Ryu growled, baring his teeth. "Her idea of 'peace' was tearing into 'pieces' people she felt were a threat to her existence."

"That _dummy _made Master Ryu do _terrible _things!"

A stream of sparkles dove into the room, and suddenly a faerie popped into view amidst a puff of pink sparkly smoke and threw her arms around Ryu's neck. "Oh Master Ryu...don't let this dummy remind you of anything bad!" she cried, hugging him and sticking her tongue out at Nina.

It was the same pink haired faerie giving her the death look from her garden earlier. Well, she was about to get hers; Ryu hated anyone getting close to him!

To Nina's shock, the dragon smiled warmly and touched his forehead to the little faerie's. "Now, Merybel it's okay, I'm alright talking about it...it's not like before."

"But...but...!"

"Five hundred years gives a person plenty of time to accept things," he said gently. "You worry too much."

"I can never stop worrying about you, Master Ryu!" she cried rubbing her face in his hair.

"Wait..." Nina blinked at him. "You were stuck under Wyndia for...for.._.five hundred _years, Ryu?"

Ryu turned, and Merybel narrowed her eyes at the Wyndian. "Give or take a few decades...yes, about that long."

"I...didn't know..."

"Doesn't matter now, it's done," he faced Matron Flora again. "There is something else I wish to ask of you, great Matron...if it is not too much trouble, may we continue to use the protection of this realm to heal before we resume our travels in Elanaar? I want to finally have a leg up on these bastards."

The Matron's wrinkled face crinkled up even more as a wide smile broke. "Master Ryu, your formality is flattering, but five centuries or not, many remember your deeds, and if there's something you require...we we will gladly provide it to you if it is in our power to do so."

A loud gurgling sounded and Ysela laughed. "I take it our guests would enjoy some nourishment, yes?"

Ryu banged his fist on his stomach. "Sorry...I guess I haven't eaten in awhile," he laughed.

"Then I won't keep you waiting. The faeries have thrown together a feast in your return," Matron Flora said bowing her head to them. "Run along and fill your bellies to your heart's content. May it be blessed by nature's pure spirit."

Ryu, Merybel, and Nina all bowed back, then exited the room, Nina's gaze lingering for a moment on the old faerie still smiling down on them.

* * *

"Oh, I'm s~o happy the pendant still worked, Ryu!" Merybel threw a haughty smile at Nina and nuzzled into the dragon's hair again as they walked down a vine hallway leading to the dining hall. "Five hundred years, Ryu! I thought that evil witch had killed you for sure!"

Was that faerie trying to make her _jealous_? It was _Ryu. _She didn't care one bit.

Ryu smiled at Merybel and chuckled, "Silly Mery, you know I won't go down that easy! But for worrying about me...I'll have to bring you a present on my next visit."

"Oh a present? For _me_? Everyone'll be sooo envious!" another sly glance.

Okay, so it _was _making her a little perturbed he was actually being this nice to someone.

They rounded a corner into another large vine room with a long mushroom table seating close to a hundred faeries, all chattering and already digging into succulent dishes steaming in front of them. In the middle of the table sat Ryu's fish. blackened and smelling delicious. Ryu, Nina, and Merybel filled the last three chairs at the end and joined the rest of them in scarfing down everything they could see.

It had been too long since Nina had had a _real _meal. These were actual prepared foods, with things she couldn't get out in the wilderness, like garlic or butter, or anything sweet other than fruit. And drinks...she was so tired of water! The Wyndian stuffed a chocolate pastry into her mouth, watching Merybel fawn endlessly over Ryu, filling his plate as fast as he was emptying it.

Five hundred years. Her ancestors stuck him under Wyndia for half a millennium just because they were afraid of dragons and the Kaiser...something that was as much his fault as his own birth.

"Tell us a story of your travels, Master Ryu!" a blonde faerie with tiny glasses four seats down from her yelled.

Ryu shrugged. "I haven't done too much since you last saw me, Carlye...I was forced to sleep for a long, long time."

"Aw come on, Master! You have to have _something_!" another faerie pouted.

"Well...," he took a monstrous bite from a roasted leg of some animal and pointed it Nina's way, "Fai'en here summoned a giant dragon with scales like diamonds to save us from execution in Wyndia a few weeks back."

High pitched gasps were heard all around. "Really, a _big _dragon!'? That's so _neat_!"

"Wow, Master Ryu you have a powerful ally!"

"She must be something to be able to do that!"

"It must have been so _pretty_!"

Nina blushed from all the attention. "He's playing it up...I don't even know how I did it!"

"How _boring_. I want to hear about _you_, Master! Not some dummy summoned dragon," Merybel said with an exaggerated yawn.

He laughed. "Mery don't pout, I'm sure I'll have plenty of stories to tell after this is over and done with."

"A toast to the return of our savior!"

"Yes, a toast!"

Tiny hands with tiny glasses of ambrosia shot into the air. "A toast to our savior!" they all sang in unison. Everyone downed their entire glass after clinking with another. Nina took a tiny sip of the strange fizzy liquid, blinked a few times in surprise as she smacked her lips, then gulped down the entire thing. She had never drank anything so sweet, so flavorful, so...

"Don't drink too much of that, Fai'en," Ryu called over to her. "It'll sneak up on you."

Nina ignored him, accepting another glass from the faerie beside her. "So what do you call him 'Master' for?" She asked, taking a bite of some cake with bananas, cream, and caramel swirled into it someone else handed her. Warmth flushed from her stomach all over her body. Apparently Ryu was right, but the drink tasted nothing like alcohol!

"He killed Turai!"

"Freed us from hell!"

"Smashed Turai into the ground!"

"Made that dummy eat all the poop he created!"

Merybel floated over and wrapped her arms around Ryu's. "Saved me from being that scary dummy's pet..."

"Hurray for the dragon!"

"We love you, Master Ryu!"

"Master Ryu, you should live here with us! We miss you!"

Nina stared at Ryu's genuinely smiling face amidst all the adoring faeries, not sure what that feeling was stirring inside of her.

What a strange, benevolent monster.

* * *

Nina walked -or rather slightly stumbled - out of the dining hall into the house's foyer, desperate for some fresh air.

She had had three more glasses of that drink -thanks to all the toasting the faeries felt was necessary- and her face was now pleasantly numb. Cool night air greeted her the moment she stepped outside. Glancing up at the millions of stars twinkling above her, she collected up her hair and tied it into a knot on the top of her head.

Her cluttered mind needed reorganizing. There was too much excitement over Ryu to wrap her head around. A violent dragon like him saving _faeries_?

Then again, he _did _stand up for her in front of Ethan...she vaguely remembered some of his words, and he still abided by his promise not to kill him, even though they were both almost taken out again...

She thought back to him gently patting her on the head exactly like his soul did, and shook her head as soon as she did. Goddess, this ambrosia was making her have some strange thoughts.

"Where are you going?" sparkles arced over Nina and burst into Merybel floating in front of her face, hands on her hips. The Wyndian nearly fell backwards in surprise. "I've been looking for you."

"I-I wanted some air...maybe to go check out the view at night on the cliff?" Nina stuttered, catching her breath. Looking for her? "Wh-What did you need?"

"I came to see if you wanted this," she snapped her fingers, and a full glass of ambrosia popped into existence in her hand. Nina stared at the fizzing, pinkish red liquid, knowing she didn't need any more, but wanting it bad all the same. It tasted...amazing. "Come on, you need to _relax_," the faerie said, holding the glass directly underneath her nose. Sweet, tantalizing, berry fragrances danced into the Wyndian's nostrils. She wanted it, _lusted _for it.

Before she knew it, she had downed it. She handed the empty glass back to an ear to ear smile. "Th-thanks-!" Nina hiccuped. "I guess..."

"Well, you looked like you needed to relax a bit." Merybel smirked after she spoke unnoticed, and turned pink eyes to the sky. "You know...talking about views and all...If you go down to where the waterfall empties itself, you'll see something _re~ally _neat."

"Oh?" Nina asked, "What...what is it?" _Hiccup!_ Was she trying to be friendly? Her head was too fuzzy to tell.

"It's _much _better to see than for me to tell you," Merybel said winking at her.

"Okay...," Nina shrugged. "I'll go check it out." What could be the harm in it? Maybe she _was _trying to be nice.

"I can take you if you want...That is...if you're not afraid of the banshee."

"What's -_hiccup- _that?"

Merybel sat down on her shoulder. "A terrible woman who gets her power drinking the blood of faeries," she said spookily, "She catches them and _rips _their heads off-" she made and excited ripping motion with her hands, "-and then gorges on their blood! The water's edge is her favorite area to strike!"

"B-but I'm not a faerie, why would I be scared?"

"Wyndians have magic in their blood too, right? She might not discriminate."

"'Banshee...," Nina shivered, imagining a wailing, ghost-like woman wrapping skeletal fingers around her neck, preparing to rip it in two. This was a magical realm, there could be _anything _lurking in its shadows.

Merybel stifled a laugh Nina didn't catch. "Well? You want to?"

"You're...not scared?"

"_Pshh_," the faerie crossed her arms, "only _dummies_ are scared of a stupid banshee. Are _you _a dummy?"

"N-no..."

"Then let's go!" Merybel cheered, throwing her tiny hands into the air.

* * *

Nina stood on the cliff's edge, staring at the night sky before her in buzzed wonder. Deep blues and violets clung to thin wispy clouds framing the realm's grand planets floating amongst an ocean of stars. When she was finally able to tear her eyes away from their dizzily spinning rings, she peered over the edge down the waterfall, trying to see from there where all the water was ending up; all she could see was more forest. Was it really as amazing as Merybel advertised down there?

...Or as dangerous?

The faerie hopped off of her shoulder into the air. "Go straight down. I'll meet ya there!" she cried, diving off of the cliff.

"W-wait!" Nina cried, reaching after her, but her trail of sparkles was long gone. She took a deep breath, stretched her wings out behind her. She was alright hovering...but she didn't know about full on flying. If not for the ambrosia, she probably would have turned back at any hint of danger without Ryu -like she had promised- but alcohol was making her bold.

Plus, Merybel would call her a dummy if she didn't.

She said a quick prayer to the Goddess and jumped off the cliff.

Moments afterward, a tiny puff of pink appeared on the grass. "Geez, what a trusting little _dummy_," Merybel snickered, "Hope you enjoy getting lost in the _dark_!"

* * *

Nina soared down parallel to the falling water through cold sprays and mists. She veered to the side and busted through the tops of trees below. The ground found her faster than she wanted. Thankfully her wings seemed to have a mind of their own, they billowed out faster than her brain could have commanded them to in its current state, and caught her before she went slamming into grass. She floated down and closed them, managing to land safely on one foot. Shrugging at her dumb luck, she took a look around.

Now what was it Merybel wanted her to see? The waterfall emptied into a lake...like most waterfalls did...what was so special about this one? It was almost pitch black underneath these trees, but with her dragon eyes, it was no worse than a clouded day. Merybel was no where to be found. "Merybel? Where are you?" she called out.

And then it happened. About a million or so fireflies instantly lit up at the sound of her voice, like the stars had suddenly fallen from the sky to gravitate around her. Their flickering lights glittered on bubbles rising up from the water and ground into the air. Mesmerized -and thinking she may not drink anymore of that stuff- Nina walked along the pool's bank away from the noisy waterfall, admiring the fireflies diving against the water's reflective, black surface. Lily pads with glowing blue flowers on them she didn't notice before floated by along the current, providing places for strange blue glowing butterflies and dragonflies to land and spread wings like fans of fluorescent spider web. She bent down to study one bravely perched near her, stopping to pop a few of the bubbles along the way. Warmth coursed over the finger used to burst them. Bubbles of pure magic, her mind told her.

Hmm, that faerie was right. This place _was _neat...

Suddenly, her eye caught a figure near the waterfall. She stood, squinted. Someone was lounging on top of a large rock jutting out of the rushing water, watching her intently. At first, she thought it was Ryu coming to find her, as it possessed long, blue hair, but as she got closer, she realized it was not.

The figure stood slowly, and Nina could see it was a woman. A human? Matron Flora acted like no one had visited in ages...so how would a human have gotten into this realm? She blinked and felt her stomach tie into a knot.

Could it really be...the _banshee_?

Her nervous eyes caught something shimmering behind it. Wait, why in the Goddess' name did this human woman have faerie wings?

The pale woman flipped her luscious, wavy hair behind her shoulder. "Hello again, Nina," the familiar common coming out of her cherry red lips made the Wyndian's blood stop cold. "I've been _dying _to play with you."

* * *

**A/N:** This took me forever. I keep getting distracted with games =3 First Mass Effect 2 and now FF14...

Damn it's been a year since I started this...that's crazy. Kudos to everyone staying with me this long, it makes me so happy! I'm finally getting to some of the stuff I've been patiently waiting to write! ...and don't worry, it will not be just Nina and Ryu all the time, they will have more party members, I promise, so stick with me!

Nina Wyndia: There's some more of Ryu's past! =3 It's not much...but more will be told very soon!

Thanks for reading and reviewing!


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

_Your Courage This Day Will Not Be Forgotten.__That, I Promise._

"Merybel, where have you _been_?" hissed a voice sharply, stopping the pink faerie short in her tracks as she tried to sneak unnoticed back into the festivities.

She detached herself from the wall of vines she was covertly clinging to and cut her eyes over to Carlye adjusting her glasses. "Don't scare me like that, _dummy_!" she hissed back.

"I saw you walk off with Master Ryu's friend earlier, where did you take her?-!"

Merybel darted to the other faerie and clapped a hand over her mouth. "_Shh! _You didn't see a _thing!_"

Carlye said something Merybel's tanned palm immediately swallowed, then managed to pry it off after a brief struggle. "Yes, I _did_!" she insisted with a dirty look.

"Shut _up_! Master Ryu will _hear _you!" Merybel eyes went to the shadows on the floor, the walls, the ceiling, the ones around that toadstool sitting in the dark corner...

"I wouldn't worry. Since _someone _found it necessary to offer the Fae even _more _ambrosia, Master Ryu's been hanging over the side of the bridge on Matron's pond reaping its benefits!" said Carlye, hands going to her hips.

Merybel bonked herself on the forehead with her palm. "I know he told Matron Flora he could feel any physical thing the bird girl experienced, but I didn't think a few drinks would matter..."

"Well, they do," Carlye scolded, then softening a bit at her friend's apparent distress, "Although, I _will _say it _was _pretty funny to see Master stumble around laughing for that rare little bit. His face is always so serious..."

"Hmph, " Merybel crossed her arms, "that's exactly why I left the stupid Fae drunk and lost in the middle of Darkwood. Master Ryu needs a break from that dummy."

Carlye blinked. "You dropped her off in _Darkwood_? It's pitch black down there, and_..._ Oh, _Mery_, all those creepy bugs! She's going to be so scared!"

Merybel couldn't stop the mischievous smile from rolling across her face. "I _know, _isn't it _great_? She's panicking in the dark without knowing which way is up, being chased by bugs she's never seen before, worried a _banshee_ will pop out and suck out all of her magical blood...it can't get any better!"

"You told her about the banshee? That's cruel, she's only after our kind."

"I let her know that. But...what _if_?" Merybel shook with laughter, kicking her feet out and clutching her stomach, "I hope the dummy is too scared to move forward because she can't stop looking over her shoulder!"

Carlye sighed at her. "You're so _childish_! The sages are going to punish you when they find out."

Laughter stopped and Merybel narrowed her eyes. "I don't care, she _deserves _it! I heard she made Master Ryu call on _him_, and you know he wouldn't do that unless his only other option was death. Anyone who makes him do that really needs _worse_ than what I did!"

"And what _did _you do to my other half, Mery?"

Merybel squeaked and slowly turned owlish eyes up to an unusually pale Ryu leaning on the inside of an arc cut into the vines beside her wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. His cloak was missing. "I-I..." she stuttered, then shook her head briskly. She could smell the ambrosia oozing from his pores. "N-nothing!"

Carlye zipped in front of the pink faerie, "Lies! She got the Fae stinking drunk, filled her head with stories of the blood drinking banshee, _then_ left her in the middle of Darkwood wandering alone with all kinds of weird bugs she's probably crying about now!" she spouted out all at once to Ryu. "Like a _dummy_!" she added, turning to Merybel's shocked face.

Yellow eyes blinked slowly within the shadows of the thick navy bangs hanging so carelessly in front of them. Standing still, the dragon nearly lost his balance. Carlye flew to his shoulder and steadied him. "Banshee...?" he murmured and hiccuped. "Whassat?"

Merybel flushed, looking guiltily to the grass littered with tiny flowers below her. "It's stupid, really, and it doesn't matter, she won't be around," she muttered.

Ryu reached up and pushed his hair back from his face. "The 'banshee' is a human that, like Turai long ago, learned how to forcibly summon a faerie from our realm into theirs," Carlye explained to the confused look he revealed. "But instead of making the faerie into a servant like he did, the banshee absorbed her faerie's powers by killing her and drinking the blood, thus becoming a..."

"...faerie human..." They both said at the same time. Ryu seemed to instantly sober.

"Oh, b-but Master, there's no need to worry, she stays in your realm. She _does _come back to replenish, but only in three or so year intervals- that seems to be how long our magic lasts in her-, but she's not due back for another two years, and..." Carlye blurted quickly. The dragon's expression did not change.

"Master Ryu...?" murmured Merybel sheepishly.

Blood suddenly trickled down the inside of his right arm and his eyes went from it to Merybel. "We're going to her. _Now._"

* * *

"Nina, Nina, Nina... Poor innocent, naïve, little Princess _Nina..._"

That voice. It was the one that lead her to her last execution. The one behind Ethan, begging continuously for her death...and now she could see her clearly; the first real member of the AG she had ever met.

Even with her head still swimming in ambrosia, Nina understood the undeniable fact if Ethan couldn't do the job, that's the sort of person her father would send.

Fireflies parted to make way for the faerie woman's graceful descent with her delicate, shimmering wings. "Sweet little royal dove we have to protect from the evils of this world..." mocked her babyish voice.

She was staring directly at her. Could faeries also see in the dark? Nina's eyes flickered to a strange, long necked bag dangling in her hands behind her. The woman noticed, her cherry smile widened. Apparently they could. "She was wandering out here alone and I could _not_ resist," she chirped, tossing it at Nina's feet. The Wyndian realized, legs losing all of their feeling, that it was no bag rolling in front of her.

It was a severed faerie's head.

She screamed and stumbled backwards onto the ground. It rolled to a stop in front of her, blood spattered, wide-eyed stare side up. She doubled over and gagged. "He was _right, _you _are _innocent!" the woman cackled.

Nina coughed, wiped her mouth on her sleeve. "W-why would you...d-do such a thing?'!"

Glacial eyes crinkled in amusement, the faerie woman shifted her weight casually to one hip. "Oh? You don't know? I guess you wouldn't. Sheltered royalty like you surely would not have been told the story of Ivory, the 'Slayer of Liordon'. Goddess forbid it might've given you a _nightmare_..." She took a step forward, Nina tore her eyes away from the bloody trail behind the tiny purple haired head to regard her assassin. Thin, sheer pieces of flowing white fabric wrapped around a curvy body any man -or woman- would die to possess and Ivory carried herself knowing it well. "Stories about a girl drinking the blood of faeries, how _sca~ry._"

So the banshee _was _real...and a member of the AG? Merybel couldn't have sent her here on purpose...right?

No, there was no way she would've intentionally put Ryu in danger, not with the way she acted around him. Nina's trembling limbs refused to part with the ground. That sadistic smile was closing in.

_Call Ryu!_ Her mind screamed, snapping her momentarily free of fear's paralysis. Shaking fingers pinched a bit of flesh on her right arm hard enough to draw blood. There. Now all she had to do was somehow stall until he arrived.

But how the hell did you stall someone from the _AG_?

Stiletto heels fell softly in the grass alongside the steady buzzing of fireflies flitting through the air, jangling Nina's nerves with every almost silent step. "H-how d-d-did you find me?" she stuttered through chattering teeth, pushing away a gruesome image of her head on the ground instead of that faerie's and hoping to every god possible this 'Ivory' liked to talk. "I d-destroyed my c-communicator."

Footsteps stopped. Shrill laughter startled Nina. "You think I need a _communicator_ to find you? Our technology is useless here, darling."

"Then h-how?"

"Look at me! Do you not see what wonders their blood awaken in humans? My skin, these wings, the power to control the elements...everything a faerie has! Why wouldn't I also be connected to their homeland?"

Nina stared at skin so pale is was almost giving off its own glow; she remembered seeing some of the faeries look just as fair. Her ghostlike complexion, combined with the flowing outfit...it was no wonder the faeries referred to her as a 'banshee'. "You can come here whenever you p-please...can't you?" Nina's shoulders slumped. Were they safe _anywhere_?

_Clap, Clap! _"Correct!" she beamed, clapping excitedly. "It _does_! Although I rarely make much use of it, so far I've only needed one faerie in my system every few years. However, you coming here called for a _special _trip...so I indulged, and why not? It feels pretty good to replenish so soon. That and I wanted to see some blood...and I was afraid if I ran into you first, I wouldn't have had the control to hold back, and that would have been just no fun at _all_."

Nina pulled her gaze away from the murderous twinge appearing in Ivory's eyes to scan the area in a panic. Where the hell was Ryu?

Her ears pricked. Goddess, she was coming again. She had to keep her talking! "B-but th-that still doesn't explain y-your title? 'Slayer of Liordon'? Wh-what's that all about?" she squeaked.

Footfalls ceased again. So did Nina's heart.

"Cute...you think I don't know you're stalling for your dragon."

Nina swallowed, clutched a handful of grass on the ground. "I-I d-d-d-don't know wh-what you're t-t-t-talking about..." Damnit, she _knew! _What was she going to do? What _could _she do?

"Regardless, the outcome will be the same-"

Winds _swooshed _by Nina so hard they pulled her hair loose from the knot she had tied it in, and Ryu suddenly appeared in front of Ivory, crimson blades out aimed to strike. Ivory chuckled and before he could bring them down, opened up her hand and blew a puff of sparkling dust directly into his face. His nose twitched, his eyes went back into his head, and she side stepped to make way for his body instantly crumpling to the ground.

"Ryu!" Nina cried.

Chuckling exploded into an ear piercing shriek of laughter. "Did you fools think I wouldn't be prepared!'?" Ivory hummed and skipped around, playfully nudging Ryu with silver painted toenails. "Aww come on, aren't you going to entertain me any more, dragon?" she pouted, "I meant to only handicap you!"

Nina blinked at Ryu's body on the grass. Down? Just like that? It all happened so fast...

There was no other choice, she had to get out of there and find Ysela, Merybel, the damn Matron, _anyone_! The AG was too much for her to handle alone! Fighting through fear and the spinning world alcohol had earlier thrust her into, she spread her dark wings and jumped into the air.

"Really now?" Ivory 'tsked', pointing her finger at the ground below the Wyndian's feet. Vines burst out of the grass and shot into the sky after her. They latched tight around her feet and legs. She kicked, screamed, frantically tried to pull them off with her hands, beating her wings as hard as she could against their pull, but all it did was make them curl tighter around her. More captured her arms, another twisted around her neck. "How rude, I _just_ put him down for a nap so we could have a nice girl to girl talk!" She walked in front of Nina, hand raised in magical concentration.

A nap? Nina figured that dust was some sort of poison but this was better! If she could somehow get out of these vines and wake him up, maybe everything would be alright!

Gods that was easier thought than done.

Ivory snapped her fingers and Nina cried out as the vines pulled her, knees first, roughly to the ground. Blood seeped through her bandages and tunic, creating large red patches on both sides of the blue fabric where the impact forced her wounds open again. "Aw you look like you don't want to talk!" whined Ivory, pushing her lip out in another exaggerated pout.

"F-forgive me if I don't feel t-too comf-fortable having g-girl t-talk with an as-s-s-ssassin..." grimaced Nina through the pain.

"Oh but I _really _want to get to know the sweet little princess Ethan feels so protective of." Ivory knelt down alongside Nina's shaking body. Sweat beaded on the Wyndian's forehead, she grit her teeth hard to keep her composure. "Such a mean face...even though you're trembling _so _hard..." Pale fingers touched her cheek, slid long, silver fingernails softly against her skin. Nina's heart lurched. "This stupid little face I _hate_!" Ivory suddenly slapped her. "For _years _all I heard was 'I have to get strong for _her_', '_she _needs me for protection!', 'oh how I miss _her_'!" The back of her hand came back for a second round. "And I find out _she _is something boring like _you_?" Ivory stood and lifted her finger up. Vines yanked the groaning Wyndian into a standing position as she circled slowly, eying her head to toe. "What's so good about you? Huh? Why train so hard to protect _you_?" she spat, ice eyes glowing in the soft light of the fireflies. "Inexperienced little prude...you couldn't _dream_ of satisfying him like I can. Brothel women in _Shyde _are wary of Ethan Von Buren."

Nina's cheeks lit on fire. Ethan, scaring off whores? Bedding women like this?'!

She really _didn't _know him anymore!

Her reaction unearthed another smile on the murderer's beautiful face. "So you didn't know that either? How he and I shared more nights than I can count in his bed, my bed..." she leaned forward, ran her tongue over her lips. "Dark corners in public places...over the corpses of some of our most notorious targets..._mmm_," she moaned suggestively, "It took me a long time to drive the little virgin princess waiting for him back home out of his head, but let me tell you how it was _soo _worth it-"

Nina's widening eyes darted to Ryu materializing behind Ivory, fangs bared and furious eyes blazing. Ivory dropped down without looking back. Ryu's blades swung awkwardly over her head, and missed the Wyndian's neck my a hair. She nearly fainted.

"I would have been disappointed if that would have been it for you, dragon," Ivory commented, sweeping her leg out behind her.

Ryu leaped back away from her onto all fours, stumbling clumsily on his landing. He was drunk, _twice _as drunk as she was, Nina realized, seeing his fight with the gods of balance. That coupled with the sleeping dust...

Fear again had the contents of her stomach pondering a rendezvous with her throat.

Vines burst out of the grass behind the dragon and grabbed hold of his wrists and ankles. He growled out a curse and barreled forward against them at Ivory, who shook her head and _snapped _her fingers_._ The vines contracted and took him along with them. "Big, bad, dragon man can't break a few itsy, bitsy vines?" she cooed, floating over to his constricted body kneeling on the ground. "So _angry_... You don't like being the submissive one do you?" she mused, hearing and seeing him breathing through his teeth at her. Blood covered his side, same as Nina. "Oh, jostling around miss prissy put you at a disadvantage, didn't it? Whoopsie!" She lifted her finger, and like Nina, Ryu's kneeling form was made to stand by possessed greenery.

Ivory landed and sashayed close to him. She reached up, pushed his long bangs away from his scowling face. One of her perfect blue eyebrows arched. "Hmm, to think there's actually a bit of a pretty boy hiding under this mess," she murmured thoughtfully, inclining her head and pursing her lips. "Shame I have to kill you... Ethan and I aren't exclusive, you know. Well, he _better _not touch another woman, but me..." she growled, then smiled again in a flash, "sometimes I do enjoy the company of other _strong _men like yourself." She pressed herself against him, ran her other hand up and down his chain mail covered chest, listening to a low growl rumbling deep inside of it. Intrigued ice eyes came up through heavy, flirty lashes and locked with his intense glare. "Then again, maybe I _should _spare you. Being with a dragon sounds..._exciting_..." she purred, getting even closer. "I bet you're a raging beastbehind closed doors-"

Ryu gnashed his teeth, and took hold of the white forearm attached to the hand holding his bangs. She screamed and ripped her appendage from his jaws before they could fully close, jumping back. "_Bastard! _What the _hell_?'!" she cried sending a vine to wrap around his neck. He smirked and spat out her flesh.

She tore a piece of cloth from her dress and wrapped it around the wound. It quickly soaked through. "_Biting? _What the hell are you, a damn _dog_?'!" she screamed at him, "You're nothing but an animal! A mangy, flea bitten _monster _parading around pretending to be human!" She clutched her arm close to her, face scrunching in pain. "_Damnit _this _hurts_!"

Nina laughed to herself quietly, glad, for once, Ryu was such a cheeky bastard. "Don't laugh, dummy he's still in a lot of trouble!" The Wyndian turned her head to see Merybel landing on her shoulder.

"Mery-!"

"_Shh_!" she hissed, "Blow my cover, and I can't save you!" She grasped the vine around Nina's neck and chanted something too soft for her to hear. The faerie's tiny hands pulsed with a pink glow and the vine fell away from her neck in blackened, charred bits. Merybel's eyes darted to Ivory yelling at Ryu -making sure she was still oblivious- then to the faerie's head below them staring lifelessly skyward, illuminated by fireflies and strange glowing bugs flying over to investigate it. "Tonight wasn't a good night for a stroll, Viola..." She muttered a prayer and quickly turned to do away with the vine on Nina's right arm.

"Th-thanks Merybel," whispered the Wyndian softly.

Merybel scowled, floating to her other arm. "Let's get something straight, I don't do anything for _you,_" she whispered hatefully into her ear. _"_The only reason I'm doing this is because you're the only one who can save Master Ryu! If it were up to me, you'd be banshee food right now for all I care."

That hurt. What was her problem anyway? "Go call some of your friends then, because I can't save him! I don't know the first thing about fighting!" Nina hissed.

"You have to! The entire village combined wouldn't be enough. Her being half faerie makes any faerie spell cast on her null and she doesn't need magic to get rid of us. Last time she was here, she killed two sages at the same time; ripped their heads clean off!"

"A-and you expect _me _to succeed? Are you _crazy_!'?"

"Don't be a dummy, if you have Ryu's soul inside of you then you have _him _as well. Deal with it, ask for his help."

_Him_? She knew about the Kaiser?

Merybel singed the last two vines on her legs. "There, now go-!"

"Did you just call me a '_filthy whore'_?'!" Ivory suddenly screamed. Nina glanced over at her fuming at Ryu's amused face. "You're _dead_!" Ivory thrust her palm against his chest, and a spike of ice burst through his back.

Nina gasped. Merybel screamed.

Ivory laughed madly at the anguish flooding Ryu's features. "Call me it again! Oh wait...you _can't_! Blood streamed from his open mouth.

"_Master!_" Merybel shrieked, brazenly hurling herself at Ivory. The faerie woman swung her arm out and sent her careening into a tree. There was a painful sounding _thud _as she slammed against the trunk, and then to the ground.

Ivory took her hand from Ryu, and the ice spike glistening with crimson behind him cracked away into pieces. Only the vine's strength held him up now.

"R...yu...?" Nina sobbed out quietly. She stared at his motionless body, stared at Merybel face down on the ground, stared...at Ivory turning towards her.

Gods_damn_it...

* * *

"Prince Vahn, here is the prisoner you requested."

"Thank you. You may both take your leave."

Two young soldiers bowed respectfully, walking out of Vahn's office and leaving a dirty, disheveled, _very_ angry Lissa standing in cuffs before him. "Vahn how _could _you?'!" she hissed after the door closed. Her platinum hair was an unbound, tangled, poofy mess around her head. "I've been in prison a _week _for something _you _did!"

The beautiful blonde prince looked up from the newspaper he was reading at his desk, a coffee cup at his lips. "There was no other way around it. Your inexperienced casting in the courtyard led to my acting adviser's untimely death," he said simply, taking a sip.

"That's _not _how it happened!"

"Someone had to take the blame for it, and it certainly was not going to be me, my dear," he turned a page, adjusted a pair of tiny, black reading glasses on his nose. "But never fear...your prince is very tolerant of accidents, and has convinced the council and the people you only needed to serve that small, insignificant sentence."

"A week in that dirty, vulgar, vagabond filled hellhole..."

"I had you in a cell by yourself."

"Those men could still _see_ me! Do you have any idea what I've been putting up with!'? I'm only sixteen! I don't need this!" Vahn took another sip of coffee. She blew air into her bangs. "Besides, didn't you want me to hurry up and learn how to use that stupid ring before that crazy faerie killing woman got a hold of the Angel? Fat lot I could do in the _dungeon_..."

"I received information the day of your sentencing that the Slayer of Liordon and the infamous Sir Vahn Buren returned to Wyndia empty handed. Tantar also reported nothing. This lead me to assume she escaped both groups, for neither country would have left her body in the forest to rot. Either one would be required to show proof of her demise to their people and the rest of the leaders."

Lissa sighed, the chains on her cuffs clinked together loudly. "So what am I for? I'm no where near able to fight a _dragon._"

Vahn smiled with his lips ever so tight. "Prison made you a little firecracker didn't it, Miss, Lissa? It's expected you are angry, but if I must remind you of where you stand," he lifted his finger, and the tip of it sparked a small white orb. "It would be an atrocity if you were finished before you had the chance to be of some use."

"You're j-joking, right? Y-you would continue to treat family like this? A...friend? We were friends once, right Vahn?"

Vahn took off his glasses and breathed on the lenses. The orb floated lazily in the air. "I seem to recall your mother was merely an uneducated peasant lucky enough to catch the eye of one of my idiotic noble cousins. Do not begin to compare your clouded blood to mine, girl." He untucked the light blue button up dress shirt he was wearing from gray slacks and wiped his glasses carefully with it, eying her through one of the lenses menacingly. "As for friends," he made a 'hmph!' sound, "My how the lower classes must dream."

Lissa bit her lip, stared at the orb she knew could pierce through her heart in less than a second. He already had that, his below the belt blows were unnecessary. "Forgive me..._sire_...but how can I be of use to you if I don't know how to use your ring correctly?" she asked, her own mouth drawing tight.

"I believe we have been going about this the wrong way," he put the glasses back on and rummaged something small out of a drawer beside him. He tossed it to her. She leaned forward and caught it clumsily. It was the ring; it still made her fingers tremble to hold it. "Put it on," he prompted.

Slowly, cautiously, _very _reluctantly, she slid it onto her finger.

"Now, you're good at cosmetic magic, am I correct?"

Lissa nodded, steadying a now vibrating hand. She couldn't help cringing. It was a conditioned reaction to the jewelry. "Only in moderation; like make up and the color of my hair or eyes. I can't completely change the way something looks."

He smiled, leaning his elbows onto the desk and resting his chin in his hands. "Try," he said sweetly.

She blinked at him. "What do you mean, _try_? I told you what I'm capable of! Aren't you listening?"

"Ah, ah, remember?" he wagged his finger back and forth. "I said you had peasant blood in you. _Expendable_ peasant blood." The girl swallowed. His smile spread to his eyes. "Now, let's play a little game. Just for fun. Try to make yourself look...say...like me."

"Y-you?" He was moving the orb around mentally in a silent taunt. Lissa sighed, lifting the hand with the ring on it."...Alright, but I'm telling you it's not going to work..." She touched her fingers to her forehead and closed her eyes, filling her head with thoughts of Vahn's features. There was a mild shock from the ring, and suddenly she felt bigger, taller, and wrapped in some very uncomfortably tight garments. Pale blue eyes opened, turned to a mirror on the Prince's office wall. In it, Prince Vahn's shocked reflection stared back from where hers was supposed to be.

"It...worked?" Vahn's voice asked from her lips. She gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. The sudden movement ripped stitching from almost every seam.

Vahn stood slowly, removing his glasses in a state of awe. "Goddess' breath, I was right, it _is_ able to amplify the power you already have! Fascinating..." He walked around his desk to his twin checking himself out in the mirror, and pointed to the cuffs on his/her wrists. A white dart of light _zipped _through them both. They cracked open and fell loudly to the ground. "Is it painful? Do you think you could keep it up for a long period of time?"

"There's no pain at all!" Lissa/Vahn said, rubbing her wrists. "This ring actually makes it a breeze to control... Geez, I could keep this up for days!"

"Excellent. I want you to take my place as the prince of Ludia for awhile."

"I never had it so easy keeping up a spell- wait, wh-what?'!" Lissa squeaked. "Are you _serious_? I-I can't do something like that! What if those old men in the council try to talk to me?'! Oh Gods, what if His Majesty your _father _summons me...?'!"

Vahn shrugged. "Say you are coming down with something and the condition of your throat is making it difficult to speak. You have my looks, my voice, there should be no problems."

Lissa's eyebrow raised. "So...you're going to leave...and trust me to do what you ask?"

"Oh, I don't trust _anyone_, Lissa, you should know that by now," Vahn said, flashing a smile. "That is what she is for."

Lissa/Vahn turned in the direction the blonde prince was now pointing to see a hunched shadow in the corner, stand. An exotic fox-type grassrunner in a revealing outfit made of only black leather straps, slinked into view, ears twitching. Her fur was the color of coal and her eyes... Lissa shivered. One was covered by a black leather eye patch, and the other, was a bright green pinpoint in a sea of white, hidden mostly by long, jet black bangs. The fox smiled, swishing her bushy tail curiously behind her. "Dis is all I have ta watch, bowse?" she asked in a rough voice.

"This is Stella. A...friend I met in Chamba years back. She's no AG, but she's damn well close," Vahn said, placing a hand on the fox's shoulder. "And it just so happened she came by looking for some work."

Lissa sighed, shoulders slumping. There was no way out of this.

"Now I want you two to play nice while I'm gone," Vahn said cheerfully, throwing on a dark hooded cloak he picked up from the back of his chair. "There's a few suits hanging in the closet in here. Do try to pick a tasteful one."

"You're leaving _now_?"

Vahn nodded, pulling his hood over his head. "Of course! I must get to my love before any more assassins are sent after her. I still have people like Alabaster and Lucas to worry about or...Adelaide. Dear Goddess, she would never see Adelaide coming..."

Stella flashed Lissa a pearly white fanged smile through black painted lips. "Don'tcha worry bowse, I hear ya."

"Good girl, Stella. You'll be rewarded handsomely when I return." Lissa gulped, watching her prince disappear in the shimmering, swirling magical dust of warp magic. He locked eyes with her. "Be good, Lissa. I'm counting on you."

_Poof! _He was gone.

"Person'lly Stella hopes ya mess up, lil' gal," Lissa/Vahn turned slowly to see the fox sitting with her gray legs crossed on the desk, flicking open a large, curved knife and closing it back repeatedly. Sweat beaded on her forehead. How did she get there so fast? "I don like baby sittin' much, dig?" Stella tossed the open blade up into the air and caught it with ease behind her back. "Better hope I don't crack, if it gets too borin'. I ain't in dat much need o'zenny."

Lissa zipped her mouth shut and stared out of the window. Jail, and now _this_? All because idiot Vahn figured he was powerful enough to keep the _Angel of Death_ around as a pet?'!

She chewed on her bottom lip, glaring at the reflection of Vahn scowling back at her. If only they would meet, and both destroy each other!

* * *

"Don't think I didn't hear you laugh at him biting me, you little _brat_!" Ivory yelled at the statue that was Nina, wringing out a hand still teeming with vapors from the frost crystals coating it and pointing it at her. "I should put one right through your- h-hey what the hell!'?"

Nina opened eyes she realized were squeezed shut to see Ryu on his stomach at Ivory's feet, grasping one of her calves with a shaking, bloody hand. He struggled to pull himself up, blinked to stop his eyes from rolling back. "I won't...let you hurt Fai'en...or any more faeries...you deranged bitch!" he choked in broken common though crimson filling his throat and mouth.

Ivory remorselessly stomped on his back with her other heel and ground it hard into his chain mail. Still, he refused to back down. "Goddess Almighty, would you _die _already!'?" Frost crystals glittered as her hand went down, and another spike of ice shot out of her palm and pierced through his body into the ground, sticking him there like a gruesome shishkabob. His eyes bulged, his unstable grip on her relinquished.

She disconnected her hand from the spike without letting it break and knelt down, snatching his bloodied chin in her hand. "This regenerating trick of yours is annoying," she growled into his blanching, vacant face. "Let's see you regen out of _this_." Full red lips touched the tip of his nose and, to Nina's shocked horror, his skin from that point onward began turning a deep, dark, granite gray. The disease crawled over his nose, his cheeks, was spreading up to his forehead...

"Wh-what's happening to him!'?" Nina cried, nervously watching it continue up to his hairline and ears.

Ivory let go of him and stood. "He stopped being fun, so I decided to give him a slow, agonizing death," she answered the Wyndian as if they were chatting about what they ate for lunch that day. "Being turned into stone is...well, imagine all of _your _insides taking on the consistency of a rock. Pretty painful sounding, huh?" She spat on the ground near him. "Serves your nasty mouth right!"

Not good. Not good at all! Nina had to save him! Ivory's petrifying kiss of death was hitting his shoulders now and showed no signs of giving up on the rest of him.

How long could one live in that state? Minutes? Seconds? Or did the ice spike already do the job?

Her heart threw itself against her ribs. Every option was spent, but the one she feared the most.

The Kaiser _had _to be called.

"But I guess I'm glad he rerouted my attention. I was _thisclose_ from nailing your head to the closest tree," said Ivory holding two fingers against each other with a friendly giggle. "All before I was able to really play with you! Silly, _silly _me!"

Nina stared at the faerie woman walking toward her with wide, wet eyes, desperately screaming inside her mind for the Kaiser to take whatever the hell he wanted just please, _please _give her the power _not _to die here!

"I sneaked away from Ethan to come here and take care of you. I was supposed to wait until morning and bring him with me...but I was just _too _ecstatic to sleep!"

Nina's stomach fell onto the ground and buried itself miles deep into the dirt at the emptiness her mind echoed back at her. As much as he always begged to take her over, why wasn't the bastard answering!'?

"He manipulated me into not bothering you two back in the Tantar regions...but I got my fill of what _I _wanted from him when we got back; I made damn sure of that." Ivory stopped just before Nina and it didn't matter that the vines holding her were gone, she couldn't move a muscle anyhow. "Unfortunately for him, he didn't clarify things with me too well, and I'm a bit slow, you see, when it comes to things I don't agree with." She reached up, twirled a piece of Nina's hair around one of her fingers. The Wyndian could barely breathe. "The deal was I didn't hurt you in _Tantar._ He mentioned nothing of other realms," she whispered, tugging the strand firmly, maddeningly rhythmically. "I want to see your blood paint the ground... I want to see any thought Ethan has of getting near you again shattered along with your bones!"

Nina didn't respond. She couldn't respond. The Kaiser was gone, probably because Ryu was over there dead and all she could do was wait until this psycho decided it was time for her to join him.

She was an idiot. Ryu tried to tell her she needed to learn how to fight back, but all she did was brush him off like he was some teacher nagging her to work on her studies. Too late did she realize he wasn't being a jerk; he was trying to prepare her for things that inevitably would happen. The most elite group of assassins on the planet were after them, and while Ryu was strong, stronger than anything she knew of in this world, he was far from immortal.

He needed her to be something he could fall back on if something happened to him...and she failed miserably.

Ivory sighed loudly, breaking her tumultuous thoughts. She let the hair fall back to join the rest of Nina's distressed tresses. "Oh my God, you are so _boring_!" she whined. "I kill your guard dog, I tell you I want to torture you, and all you can do is _stare _at me like that?" Hands went to her hips. "What's it going to take for you to show me your stupid demon, huh?"

Her demon? She _wanted _to see the Kaiser?

"Why would you want to die?" Nina heard herself ask softly through quivering lips. Every muscle in her body promptly seized up. Did she really just say that!'?

"_Me _die?" laughed Ivory, "I wouldn't go that far. I only wanted something more entertaining since the dragon turned out to be a dud...and a drunk by the smell of it," she added with a crinkled nose. "I mean, I like killing innocents as much as the next person, but inhuming you like this would be like...killing a child or...an insect that all I have to do is _flick_ one good time." She flicked an unsuspecting firefly buzzing past her and the poor bug exploded in a quiet _pop _of light. "So enlighten me," she said, smiling, "What's it going to take for you to show me it, darling?"

She had no clue how much Nina _did _want to show her.

"Should I tell you every juicy detail of the few days I just spent with Ethan? Or do you not care anymore because he stabbed you?" she mused, "Or wait..._I _know..." She covered her mouth with her hand and giggled girlishly. "How about if I tell you how we found you two in the first place? It's _really _good." She leaned over to the Wyndian's ear, cupped her hand over it. "Your little handmaiden friend with the long brown hair _gave _it to us! She wanted us to find you! Isn't that _so _funny?"

Nina stared at her pulling away giggling hysterically. "That's a l-lie," she said softly, "Chasta would n-never do that to me."

"Aww you really think that girl is your friend? _Too _cute!" She playfully slapped Nina's shoulder, smirking when the force of it sent her stumbling forward. "A handmaiden being close friends with a princess?" Ivory's face melted into one of mock pity, "Honey, Ethan told me that girl's been getting room and board to follow you around like a puppy and pretend every little thing you say is amusing for years." She eyed her up and down for the hundredth time as the girl caught herself. "She must have taken full care of your fashion needs too, because this peasant boy ensemble is _laughable_."

"She's my best friend of her own accord, she isn't paid to be so," anger gave Nina more control over her voice. She could throw Ethan in her face all day long, but Chasta? She wouldn't have it.

"_Ooo_, listen to that _tone_! Am I hitting a nerve? Believe what you want, but I saw the hatred in her eyes, and I don't blame her. If I had to kiss your spoiled ass all day long, every day of my life and do whatever _you_ wanted to do all the time, I would jump at the first chance to get rid of you too," Ivory watched Nina's face become redder and redder, and more tears well up in her eyes. "She called you a 'horrible monster'" the assassin pressed excitedly, "with a really disgusted face, like she was going to lose her dinner right there all over the floor just by thinking about you-"

Nina snapped. She was through being stomped on like she was nothing but dirt by this girl. So what if she died! Before she did, she was going to damn well try and shut this murderer's godsdamn mouth! "_Shut up!_" She thrust her hand into the surprised woman's face, and from a palm suddenly covered in sparkling frost, shot an ice spike of her own out at her.

The Wyndian's eyes were closed, her mind was desperately praying for the Goddess to guide it to flesh, praying for her magic to be strong enough to actually achieve the spell...

And a scream cut through her.

Terrified she was going to see a dead body, and even more terrified she wasn't, she forced her eyes back open, and a world of pain exploded inside of her.

She awoke moments later to leaves falling like rain around her, and her legs stretched out in front of her on the grass. She stared at them hard. She was sitting? Why was she sitting? Why was her head so _fuzzy_? She shook it, went to take a deep breath, and cried out in agony.

"You're still alive?" Ivory's voice floated in from some distance, sounding strained through gritted teeth. "Good. I don't want to be through with you for a _long _time."

What _happened_? All Nina could remember was opening her eyes and seeing Ivory sort of lift her foot and...

Wait, was she...kicked? _This _was that woman's _kick_? How far did she send her flying? Her back was against something hard and rough. A tree? She couldn't move or breathe; her entire torso felt filled with shattered glass. The irony taste of her own blood seeping into her mouth had her fighting not to gag.

"How dare you cut my face! My _FACE_, you _bitch_! And with such a pathetic version of my own spell!" Ivory's furious voice was coming closer, "Cut me with a damn _pen..._ Forget your demon, I'm going to cut you until you're unrecognizable _as is_!"

Nina slowly, painfully lifted her head, focused on Ivory stomping towards her, covering a large gash on the side of her livid face with one hand. Her head immediately dropped back down. Pen? That's how big her spike was? She wheezed a defeated sigh. Of _course_ she wasn't strong enough to do it correctly...that's how her luck was... At least she would go out with a bit of a bang, making an ugly scar on that girl's face...

_Fai'en, no! Please don't give up! Merybel and I are depending on you!_

She blinked. That voice...Ryu's soul? He wasn't dead?

_No...but if you don't do something soon...I will be! It's hard...to talk..._

But how? she thought bleakly back to him. It wasn't as if she _wanted _them both to die! This was a trained assassin, she was a useless princess. Maybe if the Kaiser would answer...

_No! Do you ever learn, Fai'en? _he scolded firmly, _Always try to take care of a situation yourself...no matter how bad it seems! Your life will always depend on it!_

Easy for him to say, but Ivory was strong, and Nina was pretty sure her ribcage was beyond destroyed.

_You can do this! Find an opening and try to spike her again, only this time, put more into it... and make dead sure you're on target!_

There was no 'finding an opening'! Nina thought back angrily, Ivory would be ready for sure!

_If there is no opening, make one!_

Seriously? She would have to be _blind_ for there to be another opportunity to attack her-

And suddenly, a plan impossibly peeked through the clouds.

Shimmering silver toenails came into Nina's vision, and Ivory grasped a handful of hair on top of her head. "Look at this!" she jerked her head back, leaning down to make Nina see where she had sliced a good chunk out of the faerie woman's cheek. "_Look at this!'!_" Nina clenched her jaw. The grip tightened. "What do you have to say about it, _hmm_?" Thick ice covered Ivory's other bloodied hand and molded itself into a dagger-like blade. She pressed one flat side against Nina's cheek, "What will you say to me before I start carving, huh? _huh!'?_" Her eyes were tiny pinpoints of angry blue.

"S-spirits of Light, p-please heed my call," Nina stuttered through white, blood flecked lips in old Wyndian, and a light sprite popped into existence above her head. _I don't have time to explain_, she quickly mentally sent over its twinkling inquiries about 'what in the world' was going on.' _But right now I need you to shine brighter than you've ever shined before! Blind my attacker! _

"What?" Ivory looked up at the hyper ball of light flitting around her face just as Nina looked away. "'Spirit of Light?' What child's play is this?"

The sprite twinkled and detonated itself into a flash bomb literally transforming the night surrounding them into day momentarily. Ivory shrieked and let go of Nina to claw at stinging, watering eyes. "_Damnit _what the _hell_?" she screamed.

Against white hot pain searing through her entire upper body, Nina reached up and grasped Ivory's throat with one hand while lifting her other to stop the ice blade from coming down from its flailed back position onto her head. It was a move she wasn't at all physically able to do, but somehow, she managed to throw the assassin's already disoriented blow off track and it instead bit into her shoulder. She took it in silence; compared to what else was going on inside of her, it was a pinch. "Spirits of Ice, I call to thee!" She gasped out.

Nina's eyes darted to the side, at tiny snowflakes accumulating from nothingness, at the minuscule, blue skinned female sprite peeking through them, drinking the scene into its wide, horrified eyes. _I need your power, NOW!_ She pleaded into its head.

There was no question, her master was in danger. It quickly flew to Nina's outstretched arm and took hold of it with tiny, sparking hands. Power surged through Nina, sending the most intense sensation of 'pins and needles' she had ever experienced spiraling down her appendage into her hand. She clenched her teeth, forced her eyes up to watch the horrendous sin she knew she had to commit.

_Thinking about it that way...will only destroy you in the end, Fai'en. _Ryu whispered in the back of her mind. _That woman is the monster here. Not you. _

Ivory grasped her wrist. Now or never. With a silent scream, the Wyndian unleashed all the magic stored in her hand in the form of an ice spike large enough to tear through Ivory's throat and break out the other side.

Nina would forever remember the sound of her neck breaking, a _crack_ more sickening than any of the ones Ryu had snapped, a sound she knew would haunt her dreams for many nights to come. She blankly stared into the woman's paling face, into wide, confused eyes. Everything below the assassin's neck lost functionality; her arms fell limp at her sides, her body slumped forward. Nina's arms collapsed with the weight. Ivory's face dangled inches from hers. She was struggling to open her mouth, to say something to the paralyzed Wyndian, but there was only blood. It poured onto Nina; warm, wet lifeblood.

She couldn't stop staring at the look of loathing Ivory's confusion slowly morphed into. It was a tangible knife, wriggling it's way through her shattered ribs, into her stomach, stabbing and stabbing until there was nothing left.

It said loud and clear, 'If there is a way, I _will _get revenge.'

Nina wanted to run away and never stop, wanted nothing more than to forget this ever happened! Ivory _was _a monster, but she was still somewhat a human right? Humans could learn from their mistakes, they could forgive and be forgiven! It didn't have to end this way!

And then, Ivory looked down, and touched her lips to Nina's arm.

Whatever benevolent thoughts of the witch were left in the Wyndian drained away with the blood in her face, and Ivory died with a smile.

"Oh Gods..." Nina whispered, wide amber eyes falling downwards, "Ohgodsohgodsohgods, oh _gods_!" Shaking uncontrollably, she watched her skin's pale peach hue darken to the same granite color as Ryu's and start to spread. "Get it off, _get it off!_" The ice spike broke, and Ivory's body flopped over beside her. Nina cradled her arm, watched the spell crawl quickly over her entire hand, tightening her skin in an agonizing pain she couldn't begin to imagine happening all over her body. "Oh gods...what do I do...what the hell do I do!'?"

All of this in vain! Killing Ivory changed nothing! They were all going to die anyway! Stone crept up her arm, seized her shoulder. Tears plopped onto her petrified hand. She didn't want to give up! She didn't want to die!

"You don't have to, Mistress!" Nina blinked away tears to see her ice sprite dragging Merybel over the grass towards her by the arm. "Your faerie friend is not dead, get her to dispel it!"

"She can...do something like that...?"

The sprite nodded. "Faerie magic can only be dispelled by another faerie."

But Merybel looked like she wasn't going to wake up anytime soon. Especially if getting smacked by Ivory was anywhere near getting kicked...

"Don't worry, she'll be alright!" the ice sprite promised, letting go of Merybel's arm and taking off to the lake. Nina watched her grab onto one of the magic bubbles floating up from the water and in a flash of light, transform it into a ball of ice floating between her hands. She carried it back over to the pink faerie. "Faeries are made of magic, and sometimes they just need a little _push _to get back on their feet again." The sprite said, holding the ball up and preparing to throw it down onto Merybel's head.

"Wait!" Nina gasped. "Won't that-"

She didn't get to finish, the ice ball cracked over the faerie's skull. Nina cringed, but found there was no need to; the ball burst into tiny glittering flakes of magic the moment it came in contact with her forehead and seeped into her tanned skin as they touched it. Seconds later, pink eyes fluttered open. "Wh-what?" Merybel murmured groggily, sitting up and slowly rubbing dirt from her eyes. "What happened to me...?"

"There's no...t..time for that!" Nina cried out, clutching her stomach.

Merybel gasped at the sight of her. "Nature's breath, _stone_ magic?"

"Don't worry about me! I need you to-" she collapsed into a fit of couching that had her spitting blood. "Ivory...dead...S...ave...Ry...u...first..." She tried calling for his soul in her mind. Nothing. "I can't...hear him...anymore..."

At the mention of Ryu's name, Merybel forgot all about her. She whipped her head back, caught sight of granite Ryu on the ground behind them. "Master!" she screamed, jumping into the air and flying over to him.

Nina hugged her throbbing torso tighter with her good arm. Stone was taking over her jaw now. She longed to succumb to the darkness trying to bully her into unconsciousness. It would feel so good to sleep...

No, she had to make sure Ryu was alright.

Merybel slammed glowing pink hands onto the statue of Ryu, and the stone shattered from him like glass. She cradled his head in her lap, said things to him Nina couldn't hear.

Please be alive, thought Nina desperately, staring at the faerie rubbing her face on the top of his head, fighting a losing battle keeping her eyelids up. Be alive so she could apologize...

Suddenly the dragon's hand raised, and he grasped the back of Merybel's head. "_Master!_" the faerie sobbed out loudly.

Nina felt a colossal weight slide off of her shoulders and go crashing to the ground. So, you're alive after all, she thought, allowing dreamland to wrap its arms tight around her, Good. She fell forward into the dirt, but not before she heard Ryu's soul whisper softly to her:

_Your courage this day will not be forgotten, Fai'en. That, I promise._

* * *

**A/N: **Again I apologize for my lateness. I didn't want to stop here either...but I want to spend a lot of time on the next couple of parts (I gotta do more explainin'), so I went ahead and cut them to get something out.

Moar action! I hope it was alright. Thanks again to everyone staying with me on this :) I love you all :)


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

_I Am Ready To Accept My Role_

Cream dome. Ribbed underside of...a mushroom? Green lines streaked, drooped, twisted across it, created confusing, blurry mazes above. Something in the middle of them was turning. Nina blinked heavy lids. It took a few times before her eyes decided to focus on the same faerie dwelling ceiling she remembered awakening to before. Fighting a deep soreness embedded in her bones, she carefully raised her hand into warm sunlight peeking in from the window behind her, wriggling five -thank the Goddess _non _petrified - fingers amongst the particles of dust floating within it.

If she was here, then it must be true. She had faced a member of the AG head on...and _lived._

But _how?_

Regardless of Ryu or her sprites' interference, she should have never been able to lay a hand on that woman. She was too much for Ryu - a _drunk _Ryu - but still... "I don't understand..." she murmured, staring at tiny blotches of pink polish miraculously still clinging to her nails; a lingering memory of better times.

_"Your little handmaiden friend gave it to us! She _wanted _us to find you! Isn't that _so _funny?"_

Pain, far worse than the physical, struck her heart.

"What, that you actually _won_ against the banshee?"

Nina turned her head to the side on amazingly soft magic infused pillows to see Merybel floating at her bedside, arms crossed. Great. _Her._

This brat was the reason she was able to see the light of day again, she knew, but who would want to give thanks to someone so rude? If it wasn't for Ryu's involvement, Merybel made it very clear she would have abandoned her in a heartbeat.

Nina's hesitance made no difference, the pink faerie took it upon herself to keep the conversation rolling. "I find it hard to believe too, she _had _to have been a clumsy dummy and underestimated you," was her haughty assumption, "There's no other explanation."

Bratty or not, Merybel hit it the nail square on the head. Nina was, how did Ivory put it? A 'spoiled, naïve, innocent little prude princess'...so how _could_ she have achieved the impossible task of being able to do...well, _anything_?

"Yet," Merybel's high pitched, sing-songy voice softened, "...I _am_ happy for this fluke. Our realm can rest easy again...at least for now."

The Wyndian blinked. _She _was getting _Merybel's _thanks?

The faerie flushed at Nina's stare. "Put that look away, this is no invitation to be friendly or anything, I just..." she looked away sharply. "I'm just...glad she finally got what she deserved and you didn't let Master die, alright?"

It wasn't much of one, but Nina decided to take it. "Ryu's a pain sometimes, but I wouldn't want to see him die," she said with a small laugh.

"Master Ryu is _never _a pain!" Merybel suddenly growled, whipping a horrible glare back at Nina,"You're lucky you share souls with him. I could care less you're recovering, I'd smack your dummy face right now if it wouldn't also harm Master!"

Nina sighed, holding up her hands in surrender, truly a painful motion to execute. "If it bothers you that much, forget I said anything! Why can't you take a joke?"

Merybel sized the raven girl up with angry eyes. "I won't, but I also better not forget either to tell you Master wanted to talk to you. He felt you wake up and sent me here to fetch you; its the only reason I would step foot into this room." Nina's heart skipped a beat. Merybel's jawline hardened, "He'll probably tell you he yelled at me for dropping you off in Darkwood, but I could care less about that too! And you can tell him that!"

Now that was something. He actually reprimanded her?

The Wyndian sat up slowly in her bed, grimacing at pains shooting through her sides. Again she was covered in bandages, this time from almost head to toe. She looked over to another tunic outfit lying on the toadstool beside her. This one was rose colored and looked more tailored to a female fit. "Where is he?" she asked, running a dozen things through her mind to say about the way she was being treated, then deciding she was too anxious about talking with the dragon to bother aggravating the faerie any more than she apparently already had.

"Where else?" Merybel huffed at her like Ryu's business was common knowledge to everyone. "Out by the falls fishing. Go find him, and on your way there, teach yourself some new jokes, _dummy._"

* * *

He was exactly where Merybel said he would be.

Merely the sight of him him sitting atop that cliff, a splash of crimson and navy against the realm's awe striking planet-filled, sparkling sky, fishing away in the thundering waters below him, had her stomach tying itself into apprehensive, very familiar knots. She hung back, clung nervously to a tree.

Was he angry? Would he yell at her? His body language seemed to be calm overall...for now...

To him, killing Ivory would be a good thing obviously, but she shouldn't have wandered so far away from him in the first place; she had made a promise! Didn't he say before something heroic like he would _never _break a promise?

Though had she _not _faced the banshee where she did, the scenario could have been drastically different. She wouldn't have put it past that brash woman to have waltzed straight into the village, massacring every faerie in sight searching for her.

She squeezed her eyes tight, tried to calm her breathing for fear he could feel the pressure in her chest. He _had_ to forgive her! It was Merybel's fault for giving her too much ambrosia and making her think it was a good idea to blindly jump into the unknown-

"Surely you would be aware by now you cannot creep up behind me," Ryu's voice startled a squeal out of her.

She clumsily gained composure, clinging to the tree's rough bark with shaking hands. "No one's _creeping_," she muttered, embarrassed glare on his cloak. Of course he would sense her coming.

"I think you were," he said. Nina opened her mouth to protest, but was stopped by an unexpected smirk when he turned back. "You think I'm angry?"

"I..." she shuffled her feet, eyes shifting. He wasn't so forward last time. "W-well, a-are you?" she stuttered, voice cracking.

"You eliminated one of our pursuers. What reason would I have to be angry with you?"

Nina bit her lip, let go quickly when she saw him react to it. "I ran off without you. I promised I wouldn't..."

"You did, but it's alright. You handled yourself this time."

Another bite. Another embarrassed shuffle.

"You're doing that a lot," he said, touching fingers to his mouth.

She looked to the colorful wildflowers brushing her boots. "Sometimes you're _scary, _Ryu..."

Laughter boomed out over the cliff, echoed throughout the mountain range surrounding Darkwood. Boisterous, _hearty _laughter she wouldn't, in a million years, have placed with him. It loosened the anxious mess her stomach had contorted itself into. "Not as scary as that woman, I'm sure," he chuckled, jerking his hook out of the water. It soared back in a long arc over his head, then with a snap of his wrist, he whipped forward again into the falls.

A slightly more relaxed Nina gingerly walked forward with a bit of a limp, "I guess it's a different sort of scary." she settled down beside him with a grimace. She noticed his face twitch. "I think I might only be afraid of you yelling at me, whereas her..." she thought back to Ivory's syrupy sweet, condescending voice and shivered. "Just her _speaking _scared me so much I could barely move." Nina watched Ryu's tanned legs in rolled up trousers swing back and forth over the cliff, the bare heels of his feet skimming over raging currents. He looked like a boy indulging in his favorite activity without a care in the world. "You like to fish?" she asked him.

"I'm good at it."

"Really?"

"Always been."

On the other side of him, a pile of five or six large fish similar to the monster he caught out there before were on the ground. She looked from them to his line in the current. "Isn't fishing off a waterfall sort of...cheating though?" she asked.

"You think so?" his eyes flickered to hers scrutinizing him.

"The currents carry the fish straight into your hook! Isn't the hard part done for you?"

She jumped when he thrust the rod in her direction. "Be my guest to try your hand at it," he said, smirk deepening. "I'd love to see you keep from being pulled off this cliff."

She stared at the rough, grainy wood it was made of, and shook her head quickly. "What makes you think I want to fish? I've never held one of those contraptions in my life!" she cried shoving it back at him. "And forget it if you want me to touch some slimy creature!" He snorted a laugh, gave his attention back to the water.

He cast. Nina stared out into the swirling purple of the largest planet. Gentle breezes played on both of their manes.

Ryu broke the silence first, shaking his head, "That woman was something else. Her mouth wouldn't stop."

Ice trickled down Nina's spine. Ivory's mouth had spouted a lot of things she wanted never to think of again. Things that dragged Ethan's good name into the mud and threw Chasta's out the window.

"I heard some of what she said to you, before the stone grabbed my heart."

"If you don't mind, I would rather not talk about it," she interrupted harsher than she expected.

He was unfazed. "If an assassin knows information pertaining to you, they will use it, be it true or not."

Yes, but how was one supposed to _not _let it get to them? What if it really was all true? What if Chasta really hated her, and Ethan was..._that _sort of guy?

She flashed back to Ivory's head dangling inches from hers, leaking blood everywhere.

"You're thinking about it too much, Fai'en; I can almost feel the gears turning."

They screeched to a stop. She wouldn't any more. "You told Merybel you wanted to see me?" she asked, voice rough. Hopefully he didn't want to continue talking about Ivory. It was done, she was dead. No more conversation about her was needed.

Amusement shone in his eyes, "Interesting. She actually gave you my summons? I thought you wandered your way to me."

"Why would she not have?"

"Because she despises you," he laughed.

Nina sighed at him, black wings drooping. From one unpleasant thing, to another. "Tell me something I _don't_ already know..."

His head went back, spewed more mocking laughter. He was having the time of his life.

Just when she thought he was being _nice _for a change. "And what's so hilarious about that?" she snapped back, face hot.

"Merybel's bluntness, that's what," he gasped, taking one hand off of his fishing pole to wipe his eyes. "She can't stand you anywhere near me. I'm very surprised she fetched you."

Nina turned her nose to the air. "Hmph, how ridiculous. What is she, anyway, in _love _with you?"

Ryu nodded and cast again. "Yes, but not the kind you are thinking of. I am...a sort of little brother to her; and she, a very protective big sister."

"_Big _sister?" Nina asked incredulously, bringing her nose back to normal level.

"Mery is over seven hundred years old, Fai'en!" he said, giving her a shocked look. "I may have been sealed under Wyndia for five hundred years, but I was twenty-five when that happened, and the way I look at it, that's what I still am!"

Nina slipped off her boots, and let her legs drop over the cliff. They weren't long enough for her feet to touch the water, only to feel the mists spraying up. "What's her reason for hating me so much? I've never intentionally hurt you. I felt _really_ bad when Ivory was attacking you..."

"You might want to pull your feet back up, unless you know how to protect the bottoms; some of these fish have razor sharp fins on their backs." He lifted one of his feet up and angled it so she could see the crimson scales he had on the bottom. She quickly obliged, returning hers to the safety of the grass underneath her. "As for Mery...You having wings on your back is reason enough for her.

She looked back at him so fast, her neck popped painfully. "What? Are you serious? That's _racist!_ How can she judge me solely on the fact I'm a Wyndian? How is that fair?" she cried, rubbing it.

"You don't understand," he said, expression darkening back to the normal broody tone she had become accustomed to with him. "You could never understand our feelings about your race."

"Of course I can't...you never tell me anything," she muttered, crossing her arms. How was she supposed to understand someone as closed as a locked chest with the key inside of it? Nina snorted. "Is this why I was summoned? So you could annoy me?" she asked through tight lips.

The dragon's line suddenly went taut, and he braced himself, for a fight that ended as quickly as it started. No sooner did he make the first pull, than the rod snapped, and the bottom part went flying backwards out of his hands. Both Nina and Ryu turned to see it land halfway down the hill behind them. "Think you pulled hard enough?" she asked.

"Enough to match their strength so _I _don't go flying over the cliff," Ryu answered, letting himself fall backwards into the grass.

"Not going to get it?" Nina asked when he folded his arms behind his head and took his gaze to the sky.

"Why? It's broken. Time for a break. Our muscles are screaming anyhow."

Indeed, all hers were throbbing. Her ribs didn't feel one hundred percent healed yet either. Remembering he was feeling pain for the both of them, she attempted to shift into a less painful position. "You didn't answer me," she said down to him, "What do you want? Why am I out here if you're just going to take that stupid faerie's side about something I can't even help-"

He turned his head to her. "I didn't call you out here to be annoying or to side with Merybel. I gave her a piece of my mind for taking you into that forest, I'll have you know." He took one hand out from under his head. "The reason I called you here, was to make sure you were alright, up _here,_" he touched it to his forehead.

She blinked, "What?"

"This is the first time you've willingly killed someone, Fai'en. Not everyone would be able to chat so casually after something like that...and you can stop with that look, you and I both know we can't afford to possess weak minds."

She lowered her head. "What are you talking about, I _am _weak. I begged for the Kaiser." She cringed, but there came no scolding.

"I figured as much."

"You...aren't angry about it?"

He gave a frustrated sigh, along with a roll of his shoulders, "How can I be? It's expected you would overreact, seeing me go down like that so many times."

Nina remembered the block of ice her stomach turned into each moment he dropped. Then Ivory's dead face. Always back to Ivory's face.

She didn't want to think about it, she didn't want to think about it!

_Hiding doesn't make it any easier to bear, _a familiar voice whispered inside her head, _You must take responsibility for your new role in this world. You know this Fai'en._

Ryu's soul was right. This dog eat dog reality was hers to keep now, and Ivories were going to continue coming against all her prayers to try and rip the life from her.

What she did _wasn't _murder.

She swallowed, "I-I...w-was...very scared, Ryu. I'd never seen you beaten so fast."

Annoyance flickered in his eyes, "I was drunk and you were lucky she liked to talk as much as she did. Do not assume the next assassin will give you that luxury," he snorted.

Nina knew nothing about individual members of the AG, only that as a whole, they were a force too powerful for any country's army to contend against. If she and the dragon wanted to stay alive, they needed to somehow research, somehow have a heads up on what they might run across.

Next time she _had _to be prepared.

"I want to learn how to fight," she forced herself to lock eyes with him, "I almost got you killed, then could have killed us both wishing for the Kaiser. I can't let it happen again. No, it _won't _happen again." Her mind flashed between Vahn's ravenous smile hovering above her and the mocking dominance of Ivory's glacial orbs. The memories blurred together until they were one in the same. "I _have _to get stronger...I don't want to feel helpless ever again, I'm _tired _of being helpless!"

He studied her for a long moment, watching her tiny, pale fists tremble at her sides before he spoke. "And how do you propose you achieve this?"

The corners of her eyes sparkled. "I was hoping I could ask you."

He immediately shook his head in disapproval, "Your hands are too delicate for my way, Fai'en."

"They are stained just as well now, whether I like it or not. I'm asking you to _please _help me, Ryu."

"You're asking a dragon to teach you how to kill."

"My world is no longer as forgiving as my 'cushy castle life' anymore. You tried to tell me that, and I didn't want to believe it. I believe it now, and I am ready to accept my role."

Another study session. It was unnerving how intensely he was staring at her. "I will be merciless," he finally said carefully, as if it were necessary for her to hear every syllable of the words perfectly to understand what they meant. "I have to be."

Her determination didn't falter. _Ivory _was merciless, the AG was merciless. "I believe they will be even more so."

He sat up, keeping intrigued yellow eyes on her through his wild hair, "Remember you said that," He said, holding his hand out to her.

"I'm not afraid," she took his calloused fingers firmly in hers, matching what she thought was arrogance with her own stubborn nature. "Death scares me worse than you do."

This made him smile. "I hate to tell you, Fai'en, but hell is _much _worse than death."

* * *

Ethan was well accustomed to the smell of death, the decaying scent of the old and the metallic, sweet of the new, but what he wasn't prepared for, was who this stench was coming from.

He stood over the stiff, gray corpse of his former lover lying twisted on the ground, a gaping hole through her neck and what looked like an animal bite on one of her arms.

"It's her isn't it?" Chasta's voice floated from behind him. She was holding onto the sobbing form of the servant girl lucky enough to have found it while taking a walk in castle Wyndia's courtyard.

"I-I-It's really a d-d-ddead body!" the girl was crying into Chasta's chest. "I-It appeared o-out of nowhere and -f-f-_fell _on me!"

The red headed soldier knelt down, lifted a matted clump of blue hair and moved it to the side to better view her obvious fatal wound. Flies buzzed around his ears. His Wyndian blood detected traces of ice magic, as well as the magic of a sprite. Crimson brows knit together.

_Nina_ did this?

Ivory's corpse was smiling. Either her death came as a surprise, or she inflicted enough damage to Nina to maybe kill her after she was dead.

He had to find out what happened, but there was no way he could go to the faerie realm himself now. He'd have to wait until someone spotted her outside of it.

What a bother.

"Sir Von Buren?"

He let go of the hair and turned to the brunette handmaiden. "Yes. It's her," he said standing. Without another word, he started to walk back towards the castle.

"No prayer for her? Wasn't she your girl?" Chasta asked, eyes following him.

Ethan paused with his back to her and gave an arrogant snort. "Hardly. She's one of many, and was there when I was bored. That was all."

Chasta waited until he was inside the castle before angrily shoving the servant girl off of her. "God, your sniveling is driving me mad!" she snapped into her confused, makeup splotched face. "Go back into the castle and get someone to clean up this mess!"

"I-...L-Lady Chasta...I-I-I've never s-s-seen a-" she sniffled, taking baby steps back.

"I said _go_!" Chasta stomped, pointing towards the castle. The girl wiped her eyes and nodded briskly, picking up the front of her skirt from the ground and scurrying away across the courtyard.

The winds were soft this day, too soft to take away Ivory's rank odor. Chasta stared down at the flies buzzing around the corpse, the quivering maggots feeding on its dead flesh.

What a useless assassin, she thought, grinding her teeth. Ivory was supposed to be one of the worst, and she already hated Nina for whatever hold she had on Ethan, so why...why did such a perfect candidate fail?

The skin underneath her right eye twitched.

Like Ethan, Chasta could feel the all too familiar remnants of magic lingering on Ivory. She knew the victor wasn't the all powerful dragon she kept hearing so much about at all, but the godsdamn _princess. _"How?" she spat darkly under her breath. "How did you lose against someone like _her_? You're an _assassin _for Goddess sakes!" It didn't make sense! It was too perfect, and this girl _blew _it! Anger exploded, the handmaiden no longer could contain her voice or actions. "You _idiot, _I thought you could do it!" She kicked the body. Flies dispersed. "I _trusted _you! You were my last hope, and now I don't know where the hell she is to send someone else because _you_ lost my damn communicator!" Her foot connected with the body again. C_runch, _a few ribs caved in. "Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot, _idiot!_" Chasta raged, kicking every word.

She stopped only when there were no more ribs to break. She stood over the crumpled mess of the faerie girl, panting, fists balled tight at her sides, staring at its broken, drooping, dull colored wings.

She had wanted nothing more than for Nina to be killed by Ethan and his lover. For days all she could think about was the princess' heart shattering when loud mouthed Ivory would undoubtedly spill everything about their relationship, delighting in the knowledge the faerie girl would have tortured her inside and out.

But now it was over. The Slayer of Liordon was insect food.

Sure, Ethan would go after Nina again, but what good would it do? No matter what tough exterior he was trying to show, he had a weakness for her, or he would have killed her before, and where was the fun in mercy? She needed someone ruthless, someone willing to grind her feelings into the ground, humiliate her in every way possible...

The thought barely finished before sparks flew behind her emerald eyes.

She knew exactly who to get for the job.

* * *

Faeries were everywhere cheering and laughing, bombarding Nina left and right with foods and ambrosia for her to take. She bit into a flyby dark chocolate brownie, hooked her fingers around the stem of a glass filled with fruity, fizzing goodness. Her eyes followed the base as she tipped it up, past a group of faeries on the other side of the room drunkenly strumming shimmering, ghostly guitars. The energetic music was far from anything Nina had ever heard on the radio back home, but the band was having such a good time, she found herself infected by their enthusiasm, although a little embarrassed the song was a ballad about her escapade.

"_She was a monster, she was a fiend,"_

"Have another one, protector!" Already glassy eyes rolled down to smiling, bright blue ones, turned to bubbling red liquid.

_"Killed so many, she was the worst you've ever seen,"_

Her hand closed around the glass, amber arched around the room. Where was he?

_"No one could contend, _

_we thought this was the end,"_

Ah, there he was, surrounded by a fan club of his own, stuffing his face full of greens and fish down at the other end of the table.

_"Our hero came, _

_we knew not her name,"_

Ryu had made her promise to only drink two glasses. That was four glasses ago.

_"Hair so golden, wings so black,"_

She turned her head and gulped down sweet nectar.

_"She fought strong, she fought back!"_

"Tell us again how you did it!" Nina went to set her glass down, missed the table once, got it on the second try. Here came another food item. What was it? She bit. Charred fish. "Tell us! Tell us!"

_"Showed the banshee her might, banished her from this place,"_

"All she did was get lucky. You all are dummies if you don't see that," Merybel was a few seats down, a blur of angry pink.

_"Rid our land of that dummy's disgrace!"_

A few of the faeries surrounding Nina whipped their heads in her direction. "Shut up, Merybel!" one cried, "You're just jealous it wasn't _you!_" "Yeah, shut up!" another yelled, sticking her tongue out.

_"Rot in hell, Banshee wench! Rot in hell!"_

Merybel snorted, "Don't waste your breath saying stupid things like that, we all know damn well no faerie could have killed her."

"No, no nononono..." Nina slurred, ambushed once again by the ambrosia's sneaky nature. "No, you're wrong, Mery helped aaaa_lot_." She nodded over at a green haired faerie to her left. "I, I s_h_s_h_should know. I was_h_ there!" She said behind her hand. The faerie burst into laughter. Nina pointed hard at Merybel. "She s_h_aved me!"

The pink faerie's cheeks flared, her eyes darted away. "You're drunk. You don't know what you're saying."

Nina slammed her hand down onto the table, silver candlestick holders with long, white lit candles in them wobbled. "Nono, _you're _drunk! I'm s_h_erious...you s_h_aved me! I was being turned to s_h_tone!"

_"Rot in hell, Banshee wench! Rot in hell!"_

Merybel grit her teeth and slammed both of her hands down on the table. "Shut _up!_ I _don't _need your thanks! I don't _want _your thanks! Don't you get it, you stupid bird!?" she screamed.

Faeries gasped. Nina's eye caught a flash of blue as Ryu bent over and lost his dinner.

Oh gods, now he knew she drank more than she was supposed to.

_Oh gods_, now he was _glaring _at her!

Faeries jumped back as Nina hastily got up out of her chair. She had to hide!

"Where are you going?" Merybel spat.

Away from the fuming dragon, that was for sure. "I...I need the bathroom!" She pushed through faeries clinking glasses together out of the dining hall, glad most of them were helping her escape by piling around Ryu trying to help him.

_"Never again will we see your face!"_

She sidled down the vine covered hallways, eyes constantly darting behind her. A few stray faeries passed her and cheered, she ignored them. Maybe he would be too drunk to follow. Please, _please _let him be too drunk to follow.

He couldn't blame her! Just a few days ago, death had its jaws clamped on her behind, so what if she wanted to enjoy a few drinks! What if tomorrow someone worse came?

Another series of "Rot in hell, banshee wench!" faded when she finally found a door leading outside.

Refreshing breezes met her when it opened. She followed a stepping stone pathway in the grass to a covered wooden bridge lit with lanterns emitting pale, blue light, spanning over a large, sparkling pond ringed with the realm's colorful trees. She looked behind her. No one was following yet. Her eyes went back to the pond. Just like the waters of Darkwood, magical bubbles were floating out of it into the air. There were even a few fireflies darting about.

Nina made a face. Darkwood wasn't really that special, Merybel was such a _bitch. _

She walked to the middle of the bridge and grabbed onto the railing, deciding suddenly since everything wouldn't quit spinning, she was going to have to stop walking. She leaned all her weight against it, glad the booze numbed the pain in her ribs and legs, and stared at lantern light reflecting off the surfaces of the rising bubbles. Her stomach rumbled. The food and ambrosia inside weren't getting along. She swallowed back a wave of nausea. Maybe it _was _a little rude to Ryu to drink this much.

"_There_ you are!"

Nina looked back lazily; she was too drunk to be apprehensive anymore. Thankfully, it was Carlye, a _nice _faerie. She smiled weakly.

"You don't have to worry about Master Ryu, he's out cold just beyond that doorway," Carlye said with a wink, jutting her tiny thumb back. Nina's stomach fell. He almost made it to her! "He said something about tomorrow being 'the deepest, darkest pits of hell', before he fell asleep?"

"Pshh..." Nina slapped air with her hand. "He's always s_h_aying things like that." If only she could keep this drunken confidence!

Carlye laughed, "I see he's not a worry for you." Nina's smile seemed even more drained. "And he shouldn't be, for someone who defeated the banshee!"

Moon and planet light shined down onto the magic bubbles, making them look like floating balls of crystal in the air. "No, Merybel was right, it was_h_ dumb luck," The Wyndian slurred, resting her chin on a folded arm, reaching out to pop a bubble with the other. The tip of her finger tingled; she transformed the feeling into a tiny blue spark. "Don't gimmie all the credit. I hadda lot of help getting to that moment." Nina shot the spark into the pond. Bits of energy crackled across the surface and solidified into a thin vein of floating ice.

The blonde faerie landed on the railing beside her. "You shouldn't take Merybel so seriously, she just doesn't like winged-"

"Yeah, Yeah, she dossant like Wyndians," Nina waved her hand, "Ryu told me, but I don't understand why, whad they ever do to faeries?"

"It wasn't what they did to us, it was what they did to Master," Carlye said softly.

"What, sealed him for five hunnard years? I agree it was extreme...but what could they do? The Kaiser is a terrible monster-"

"The Wyndians took his family hostage and forced him to be a slave to violence for their safety, only to repay him with betrayal in the end."

Nina lifted her head, suddenly a lot more sober. "Betrayal? They were...killed?"

Caryle nodded gravely, "Maybe I shouldn't be telling you this if he hasn't told you himself, but yes. They promised they wouldn't, and they did anyways. Merybel was the one who found him who knows how long after it had happened." Caryle could see she had Nina's unbridled attention. "Specifics are disrespectful to Master, but he was a broken soul then, and we all cursed the ones who made him that way."

That was why Ryu was wearing ancient Wyndian armor when she found him. That was why he tried to kill her the moment his eyes opened. Her people took him in, forced him to do goddess knows what for the protection of his family...and then...

The contents of her stomach emptied into the pond. Carlye grabbed her hair and held it back. "It's probably better you keep it a secret that you know, Fai'en. By now I'm sure you know how private a person Master is," she whispered into Nina's ear. "I just don't want you to judge Merybel without knowing where she's coming from. She's really not _all _bad. If anything, her heart can be _too _big."

"I-I-" more dinner hit the water. Nina spat. She wished the world would stop spinning. "I didn't...know..."

Carlye pat her on the back. "And you _still _don't, get it?" Nina turned her head, tears slid down her cheeks. Carlye's face was warm, like a mother's. It was strange how something so childish could look that way. "I'm sure Master will tell you when he feels it's right. Until then, understand it's going to take time for those wounds to heal." She smiled. "Do you know he was actually praising you to Matron Flora and the sages before the celebration?"

The Wyndian wiped her mouth with the back of a clammy hand. Matron Flora and the sages hadn't come to her celebration; she was to meet with them tomorrow, but she had no idea Ryu had already done so. "Wh-what did he say?"

"He said, 'for a spoiled princess, you did pretty damn good'!"

Nina couldn't find the energy to return her enthusiasm. She felt like scum on the bottom of the lake. How could her ancestors have been so cruel?

Then again, she had heard her father talk easily a few times about executing people for no good reason. She always assumed they were bad guys, but then there was Benjamin...

"What do I do now?" she moaned, digging her fingers into her hair. "I feel _terrible_!"

"Why? It wasn't you."

"But _their _blood runs through my veins! I'll never get him to trust me!"

"You have to try!" Carlye cried, jumping up. "Be a Wyndian he can count on! Always be there when he needs you! Stand by him for better or for worse!"

She wanted to repent, not marry the guy. "He doesn't make being nice to him easy."

Carlye giggled. "It'll be a lot of work, but I have faith in you, Fai'en!"

Nina looked down over the wavering reflection of the realm's colorful planets, mind a soup of mixed thoughts.

"You're nothing like her, you know," she heard the faerie say.

Her? Her five times great grandmother? Nyna the Second? The Farseer? The Prophesier?

The Murderer?

"Good. Gods help me if I never am."

* * *

_"Get back here so I can carve my name into your gut, girl!"_

Nina weaved through Darkwood's trees, flinging back branches slapping at her face, wings and heart pumping harder than she thought Wyndianly possible.

Ivory's pace behind her was slow, but somehow she was always only steps away, voice dripping on the back of her ear. _"I'll jam the knife into an eye socket first; just one. I want to leave the other so you can see everything else I do to you."_

"Help!" Nina cried out into the endless forest before her. "Someone please help!" Her voice was hoarse, she had been calling in vain for awhile.

The banshee giggled; Nina's stomach churned at the cutesy sound. _"Help_? _There's no one here to help you. Ryu's dead, and you're going to die just the same...scared and alone, staring at your severed limbs strewn across the-"_

"Shut _up_!" Nina screamed whirling around with her hand outstretched, flashing back to a dismembered Ryu scattered across the grass not too far back. Ivory's throat fit neatly into her palm. Glacial orbs took hold of Nina's saucers.

Ruby lips parted into a smile. "_Do it. Kill me. Kill me like the murderer you are," _she rasped.

_"Yes kill her. Don't you want to take away her choice to live just like you did me?"_ Nichol Talbot's melted face appeared behind Ivory, amusement embedded into its lopsided features.

Tears filled Nina's eyes. "Not you, Mister Talbot! I didn't mean to kill you! Ivory! Ivory's the monster!"

_"Is it any different?"_ The faerie woman mused. _"Are you no different than me?"_

"I am! I _am_ different! Stop saying I'm not!"

_"Demon," _Nichol whispered.

_"Executioner," _Ivory cooed.

She wasn't! She wasn't any of those! Why wouldn't they _stop?_

**Silence all the things you do not wish to hear.**

Crimson filled Nina's eyes.

She'd silence them. She'd silence everyone.

**Become the black winged destroyer you are destined to be.**

She gripped Ivory's neck tight enough to make her eyes bulge. A bone _snapped_ and moved around inside of her forearm, then with a stab of excruciating pain, shot forward as a spike through her palm and speared through Ivory's throat into Nichol's forehead. Nina's arm snapped back with the recoil of its sudden contraction. Both bodies fell to a heap on the grass. She stared at them, then to her magically unscathed palm, breathing rapidly through her mouth.

Her knees hit the floor, her arms fell to her sides. The Kaiser. That bastard made her kill them _again_.

_"You _still _haven't kissed anyone else since Ethan yet? Geez, you think he's waiting on you?" _

What was that familiar voice? ...Chasta's? Chasta couldn't possibly be here... Her numb mind wanted to stop thinking.

A considerably younger version of her brunette friend somehow was now standing before her, hair cropped to a chin length bob, putting black polished hands to her hips. _"You have to do this! Jaque won't go out with me unless he gets one kiss from the Princess, so come on! Let's hurry up and get this over with!"_

"I'm not like that," Nina murmured, lost in a memory she hadn't thought of in years.

Chasta's eyes scrunched, her lips pursed. She made the face Nina hated the most; the one that looked down on her. That was not the first time she had done so. "_It's just one kiss, you shouldn't care about something so small."_

"It's not small to me, it's important."

_"You're such a baby! Jaque's the best looking guy in Rank Four and you ruined my chance because of your stupid little crush on a guy you know you can't even be with!" _Young Chasta screamed, stomping her foot. She turned and disappeared into the darkness of the forest.

Nina stared after her through a wall of tears. "Don't go, Chasta..." she sobbed, reaching out. "I'm really sorry I didn't kiss that guy for you...Please...tell me you don't hate me..."

_Clap, clap, clap._

**My, how very amusing it is to watch you play along, Keeper. Shall we have another go? I have _many_ interesting scenes to choose from now.**

The Kaiser emerged from the shadows Chasta ran through, clapping black clawed hands together. Nina held chattering teeth close together.

White haired, pale Ryu smiled. **It seems the longer we are bound, the deeper I am able to delve into your memories. I wonder if I dig long enough, what I will find? **He stepped slowly towards her on feet and legs encased in armor of black scales, and dropped to one spiky knee. She stared into the pools of blood that were his eyes, a mixture of sweat and tears dripping off of her chin. He slid a long nailed finger underneath and caught some of it. **What kind of dark desires does a princess have? **he mused, flicking it away. **What kinds of skeletons will I unearth from an innocent bird like yourself? **

She didn't know what came over her, but the next thing she knew, her fist was colliding with his face.

He stumbled back, clutching his nose, mirroring her bewildered look. **You dare to **_**strike**_ **me?'! **He roared, those pools of blood catching on fire. She could only stare back dumbly. He snatched her up by the front of the tunic shirt she was wearing, lifted her off her feet. **I'll teach you some manners! **He spat through bared fangs, raising his other arm. The skin on it ripped open, and a curved bone shot out, glinting in a stray sliver of moonlight snaking its way through the treetops. Nina squeezed her eyes shut.

But no bladed death came to be like she expected. Without sound or warning, she felt him let go of her shirt, and she hit the ground hard.

Her eyes opened and she gasped.

In that blind instant, the forest surrounding her had become completely devoid of all its color. There was no wind, no sound but leaves continuously falling and the beating of her own heart. Slowly, awkwardly, she stood within a snowfall of pure white leaves, underneath a sky of lifeless gray, lost in the soft sounds of them collecting on the ground.

What...happened to this place? Where was the Kaiser?

"Drakken, the city of the Dark Dragons, was full of technology, far more advanced than what any other race in this world could create," Nina's eyes went up. Child Ryu was sitting in one of the low, petrified looking branches of the tree she was under. "They had a machine, created to suck the life force from whatever it was directed to." He snatched a handful of falling leaves in his small, gloved hand. "Whole forests reduced to this: ghost-like, absent of anything liv-"

Nina flew up to his branch and threw her arms around him. He dropped the leaves.

"F-Fai'en!" he cried in surprise, grabbing her shoulders.

She squeezed him. "I had this terrible dream you were dead!" she sobbed into his hair. "A-and then...then Chasta...and the K-Kaiser...Oh gods, I hate the Kaiser _so _much!"

"Fai'en, please," Ryu mumbled, pushing back on her. Grudgingly she obliged, sitting back, rubbing her eyes with the ends of her tunic.

"Thank you for saving me," she said with a sniffle. "I-I didn't know what to do..."

He buried a red face low into his cloak collar, "Do not get too used to it; I owed you. It's not an easy task for me to evade him once he's awake. I've probably only bought you half an hour's worth of time."

Raven wings drooped. "That's _it_? You can't take me any farther than this? I drank so much ambrosia last night; I'm sure I'm going to be out for awhile!"

He shook his head. "Even if taking you deeper into my memories would do any good, I don't think 'I' would approve."

Because gods forbid she _learned _anything about the dragon. It made her wonder if he experienced these same things when asleep, and if her soul was as stingy as his. She hoped it was. "I thought beating Ivory might reward me _something._"

Ryu folded his arms behind his head. "I used to love these places as a whelpling. They were always so peaceful," he leaned back against the tree's gray trunk, gazing up through stagnant branches into the sky. "No one would set foot into forests the dark ones drained. It was said the plants and animals' vengeful ghosts roamed about, searching for anything living to blame their torment on."

Nina smiled slightly. She'd do with what little he did give her. "Was it true? Were there any ghosts?"

He laughed, "Of course not; they were either lies or superstitions. I never once was attacked by a spirit, and I used these grounds as retreats many times."

"Retreats from what?"

"Things."

"Tristram?" Nina asked softly, hoping she didn't overstep her boundaries.

He shrugged. "Sometimes. Mostly from the Kaiser."

Nina took a minute to listen again to the sound of the leaves' descent. She laid back on the branch, closing her eyes. "I can see how it's peaceful...but I think I would rather have something to distract me from thinking of him, not a quiet place to dwell."

Ryu looked down at the lounging Wyndian. "Funny, Ana thought the same. She would say, 'Why would you want to go to the Il'ken? It's too quiet and all you hear is the footsteps of the dead. That doesn't sound like a place to think about your problems, Ryu drak'nei." Before Nina could ask him to translate, he did. "'Il'ken' means roughly, 'place of ill will' -she could be a bit dramatic at times- and 'drak'nei' is 'brother', but a more formal version than a normal draconian family would use. I guess, you would call it 'royal brother'?"

Royal brother. His sister. Carlye had said her ancestors killed his family.

Yet his expression held not a sliver of hatred in it for her as he talked about his Ana.

Regardless, she wanted to steer the conversation a different way. "What did the dark dragons do with all the energy they gained from the forests?" she asked sitting up.

To her relief, he took the bait. "I told you before of the dark ones being cursed. Because of their will to be stronger than the god who created them, Ladon removed their ability to become his likeness: the humanoid dragon form Myrmidon. Shunned by their own protector, they grabbed onto the Goddess as their crutch."

Nina's head slowly inclined. "Wait, dragons worshiping the Goddess? I've never heard of such a thing..."

"And you wouldn't. Not many did."

The Wyndian held her hand out into the leaves falling all around her, collecting some in her palm. "She would condone the destruction of nature like this?"

"She was the one who helped them build the machine."

"I don't understand," Nina said, poking at the leaves in her hand. They were so brittle, they nearly disintegrated the moment she touched them. "Why?"

"Gods are only as strong as their followers' belief in them, and the Goddess is no different," Ryu's brow furrowed, "She saw these people struggling to get the attention of a god who turned his back on them long ago, and conveniently became their salvation."

"But I still don't understand," said Nina shaking her head, "Why would she teach them how to make something that could do _this_?"

"Dark dragons needed the energy to power what we called...'god armor'; suits of seamless, virtually impenetrable black material."

Now Nina was really intrigued. She leaned in, eyes wide. "And what did this 'god armor' do?"

"It synced perfectly to every system in the body. Gave the wearer the same effect as transforming into the Myrmidon. Incredible speed, lighting reflexes, the strength of an army at their fingertips...the only way they could contend in battles with Light dragons."

"So...dark dragons were the evil ones?"

"Not evil. Resourceful."

"Leaving forests like this seems pretty evil to me..."

"Light dragons didn't give them much of a choice," said Ryu gravely, "They were a beautiful tyrant looking down from the heavens, Ladon's hand patting them encouragingly on the shoulder all the while."

"I would think with suits like that...and the ability to stealth like you do, they would have been stomped into the ground."

"Myrmidon is not something to be taken lightly, Fai'en."

Strange, was all she could think. Wyndia could have definitely used that sort of technology in any of the battles they were involved in. If they had...maybe they would have wiped out Ludia in the beginning, and she wouldn't have had to marry its bastard prince.

Ryu looked up from his collar through his bangs at her. "Do not feel jealous of your deity's love for another race, that 'love' is what wiped them out, and besides," he said, a small smile forming, "It's not very diplomatic of you to wish for the destruction of other countries, simply because you do not want to deal with them."

She forgot he was a part of her mind. She blushed and looked away, remembering that she had also thought about him being stingy earlier. "Th-that's not what I meant...I just..." she bit down on her lip. "A-anyhow, why all the hateful remarks about the dragons? You talk about both the Light and Dark like you aren't a part of either, yet you introduced yourself to me as the second prince of the Light."

Ryu nodded. "I did. Such is my title."

"But you are also a dark dragon..."

"I took on the name 'Fyrion', to respect my father's blood flowing within me, but that is all I am to the dark ones; their leader's illegitimate son...and the bringer of chaos," An unusual pained expression came over him.

"You were accepted by neither, right?" she asked, staring at it.

"No one accepts the Kaiser, Fai'en."

"It's not your fault."

"Is it ever?"

Nina frowned. "This Kaiser really likes to ruin lives. Isn't there a way to kill him or something?"

The child's eyes lit up. "If you can find it, I wouldn't complain. I thoroughly enjoyed you punching him!"

She covered her face with her hands. "I was so _scared _when I did that!"

"It was amazing!"

"He's going to kill me when he finds us isn't he, Ryu? _Can_ he kill me?" she asked peeking through parted fingers.

He shrugged. "Well, he _can_ destroy your mind...and you might as well be dead if that happens, but I doubt he would waste something he could possibly take over-"

Hairs on the back of Nina's neck suddenly stood on end as winds picked up from behind her. The dragon's eyes went wild. "I thought you said thirty minutes!" she hissed. The winds began to pick up even more. Leaves slapped against her back, tangled in his hair. A black, deathly aura rolled over them. Ryu gripped one of her forearms with a violently trembling hand.

**I told you before, you weren't allowed anywhere near him, Keeper.**

"Please!" she pleaded desperately to Ryu, "Take me somewhere else! I promise I won't pay attention to anything!"

Little Ryu bit into a shaking lip, darted shameful orbs away. "I-I'm sorry...but I can't-"

A black claw of shadows shot past Nina's shoulder and latched over his entire skull. "Ryu!" She screamed as it pulled him from her grasp back to the Kaiser's furious floating form directly behind, beating wings of bubbling black smoke against the drab sky. "Let him go!"

White haired Ryu held the child high into the air and spit on his boots. **You think you can save him? A wretch like this? Something like him was never meant to have its own life. All he knows is how to be someone else's pawn.**

_"I will not stand around and do nothing! I'll do anything in my power to get my freedom back!" _Nina remembered the fire in Ryu's eyes when he said that. "How can you say that?" She cried into the winds. "He's a person, he has feelings!"

The Kaiser laughed, **A person? This boy was made for me to consume. **He took the boy's feet in his other claw, let go of his head. Ryu dangled unconscious; Nina could only imagine what had gone through his poor mind in the blackness of that claw. **I have been waiting patiently for the dragons to forget the curse, for royalty to somehow interbreed and create the one vessel that could not control me. **He flashed a toothy smile at little Ryu's upside down face. **It is only a matter of time until he's looking at the world through **_**my **_**eyes. **He turned to Nina. **Knowing his inevitable fate, wouldn't you agree it's cruel for him to get too attached to life? To any other being?**

Tears trickled down Nina's reddening face as she grasped the branch below her tight. She couldn't forgive this bastard! 'Cruel for him to get too attached to life'?'! Ryu deserved life just like anyone else! "I'm...I'm going to destroy you, Kaiser!" she screamed, "You have no right to choose _anything_ for Ryu, you hear me?!"

He snickered, tossing Ryu over his shoulder like a bag. **You believe because you were able to touch me earlier, somehow there's a way you can destroy me?**

She nodded, scowling hard enough for the muscles in her face to ache. "I'll make it so you never bother him again! This, I swear!"

The Kaiser burst into high pitched, maddening laughter. Nina's jaw seized. **What a century to awaken in...where I would be challenged by an ant such as yourself!**

"Laugh all you want, but I _will _find a way!"

And he did. **Let's hope your insolence proves entertaining enough, Keeper, for it would be just as convenient for me to consume **_**you **_**as well. **He rasped after the fit, just as a crack broke through the gray above them. His crimson gaze went up. **Alas, it looks as though our time is being cut short. **

_"Get out of bed right _NOW _Fai'en!"_

Adult Ryu's angry voice pierced through the air into her head. Oh thank the gods, he was trying to wake her up!

Ground crumbled beneath the tree. Nina struggled to hold onto her branch, looking up into the Kaiser's amused expression. **Run along and play, little bird, **he cooed, he and Ryu cracking into pieces alongside her dreamworld. **I look forward to seeing you again soon.**

Soon, she thought, shivering in the coming darkness.

Anything but soon.

* * *

**A/N: **More about Ryu! Sorry for the delay. Christmas hours, then Cataclysm, then the flu... I'm surprised I got this done when I did! Tytyty to everyone still reading, I'm still having a blast writing this. And now I get to teach Nina how to fight! It was about time for her to level up and not be a baby about it.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

_You're Stark Raving Mad, You Know That, Dragon?_

_Bang, _Nina hit the floor.

She struggled inside a cocoon of white sheets, flailing her arms until Ryu's livid face came into view. He gripped one corner in his hand. "Get up," he growled, throwing it down.

"Ow!" she winced, rubbing her rump. "Was that really necessarily?" Scratch any thanks for saving her from the Kaiser, that _hurt. _"And what are you doing in my room anyhow? Forget your manners?" she stood and brushed herself off, glad she had fallen asleep in her clothes.

"Forget you promised not to drink so much?" he spat back.

Her nose went to the air. "No, but we were...Augh, it was a _party _Ryu! Besides, faerie ambrosia does _not _taste like alcohol, it's easy to forget how many glasses you've had!"

"You ran from me. You knew exactly what you were doing."

"I needed to go to the bathroom!"

"Outside?'!"

Nina sucked in her cheeks and angrily scooped up the sheets from the floor, putting them back on the bed with a huff. Pain seared through her head as she did so, and both her and Ryu pinched the bridge of their noses.

"Never mind it, Fai'en. I tire of your excuses." He picked up a pile of clothes from the top of the dresser he was standing beside. "Put these on and meet me out by the falls in ten minutes." He said, tossing them to her.

She caught them, and nearly hit the floor. "Goddess almighty these are _heavy_!_" _she gasped.

"Ten minutes or I come and get you." He faced her from inside the doorway, narrowing piercing eyes. "Trust me, you _don't_ want that."

The door slammed. She stared at the clothes in her hands. A weighted outfit? What was this, soldier conditioning?

She put on the burlap sack-like material tunic and pants with difficulty and stumbled out the door frantically tying her hair into a knot, worried she had taken too long trying to fit her wings through the too small holes he had ripped into the tunic for her.

It was early; the sky was dark enough to still show off stars. Underneath a thin morning mist, dewdrops sparkled on flowers and grass. Nina trudged painstakingly through the quiet faerie village, sweat pouring over her entire body. No faeries were out and about, she noticed. "Of course," she muttered to herself, "No one in their right mind would be up at this hour..."

She barely made it up the hill leading up to the falls; her shaking, burning legs gave up on her the moment she reached the top.

"You're late," Ryu's voice came from above, the plated tips of his boots stepped into view. She scowled at them.

"I...th...ought..." she fought to catch her breath, "you said you would come...get me...if I was..."

"I decided it would be more entertaining to watch you suffer your way here."

She took a few hard breaths, "...I don't get it...it affects you as well!"

"Worth it."

Amber went up. He had that godsdamn annoying arrogant smirk on his face. How was she supposed to be nice to him when he looked like _that _all the time? She frowned. "Glad to see you showing such _kindness _to someone still recovering-"

"Oh no, you're done recovering. Like me, you regenerate very quickly. Any discomfort you felt before would be due to your irresponsible behavior last night."

Her head throbbed something awful, her stomach churned from a monster hangover, yet even still, her stubbornness ran strong, "Irresponsible? Maybe you need to learn how to take a drink!"

His smile vanished. She swallowed.

"_On your feet_!" he snarled.

She found herself immediately obliging on weak legs.

The sun was a shining line of gold across the horizon behind Ryu. He walked forward, outlined in it, eying her over. "If the choice was mine to pick who would harbor my soul, it certainly would not have been a Wyndian," he muttered, taking hold of her arm, demonstrating how he could close one hand completely around it.

"Yes, yes, Wyndians are terrible, horrible people. How can I forget when you remind me everyday?" she tried to pull it back and couldn't.

"While that is a fact, it is far more simple than that. You're too small and your bones much too brittle. Really, anyone of your race would be _the _worst case scenario."

Nina pulled again, this time he let go. "Are you going to teach me something, or continue complaining about something neither of us had or will ever have control of?" she asked through pursed lips.

"Know that because you are the weakest, you will have to work that much harder on building a good defense." He closed his eyes, and dark crimson scales popped up over the skin at the base of his neck. They traveled up slowly, fitting together perfectly into armor until they reached his jawline. "Dragon scales break conventional weapons, as well as hands and feet. They deflect arrows, fire magic...most things you do not want touching your flesh. It is imperative you learn how to call upon their protection at will."

"And how do I go about that exactly? I don't know the first thing about using dragon powers..."

"Magic usage is similar. When you want to cast something powerful, what do you do?"

She thought a moment, "I picture what the spell looks like and think hard about something of the same attribute, like the feeling of ice when its been held so long against skin it hurts."

He nodded, "Envision the scales completely covering what you want to protect; think nothing but of how you need them to stop what's coming at you."

Nina stared down at her hand. She pictured Ryu's shiny red scales popping out from her skin like she'd seen them do for him, and spread across her fingers.

"Are you picturing it?"

"Yes," she said, eyes narrowing irritably at her pale, scaleless skin. Why weren't they showing up?

"Your will must be strong for them to appear."

"It _is_!"

Her brow furrowed hard. She thought of a sword coming down to chop off her hand and how much she wouldn't want it to happen. Still, nothing. "It's not working, Ryu..." she whined.

_Riiiip. _Her eyes darted to a bone shooting out of his left forearm and curving up into a point. Sunlight shimmered on scales flowing over it. "As I thought, you need some persuasion."

"W-wait you can't be seriou-" He lowered his head and faded into the shadows.

She was aware of him, could clearly see his hazy form dashing towards her, but her brain's connection to her legs wasn't nearly as advanced as his, and not a second after he had disappeared, he was behind her, the edge of his blade resting against her throat. She didn't dare swallow. "And that quickly, we are dead," he said next to her ear. She shivered.

She didn't speak until he pulled away. "H-how is this supposed to be a good s-scenario? No assassin is going to be able to stealth like you!" Using her wings, she jumped far back from him, rubbing at her neck with a trembling hand. "I know I can see you, but you seem a _lot_ faster during it...h-how am I supposed to keep up? I'm not a dragon!"

"Alright. No stealth." He dropped down on all fours and was bounding toward her before the words finished leaving his lips.

"R-Ryu, _wait_!-" she stepped back into a tree and slipped on dew covered grass as he launched like a wildcat at her. Above where her head would have been, his blade sliced completely through the trunk. Leaves rained down. Her already bruised backside hit the ground. Flocks of birds came screaming out of the forest behind them from the tree top's tremendous, earth shaking fall. Nina scrambled out from under him and tried to take to the sky, but her outfit was too heavy for her wings to handle. He snatched a handful of raven and jerked her back. She yelped and whirled around, face the color of his cloak. "Don't you _dare _touch my wings, you per-"

Ryu's leg connected with her left arm, and broke it.

He let go of her wing and, eyes wide, she staggered to the side a few steps before dropping to her knees clutching the throbbing limp limb. "Oh my _gods_!"she screamed in agony. Through tears, she saw the dragon's arm with the blade dangling at his side. "What the hell are you _doing_?" she shrieked at his advancing form.

Without expression, his good hand came forward, and everything went black.

* * *

"You are such a _dummy, _you could have killed yourself!"

"A broken neck is trivial."

"Do you have any idea how _horrible _it was to find you both like that?"

Nina slowly opened her eyes. Blobs of blue and pink bobbed before her.

"Look, she's awake, there's no problem, Mery." The blob of blue became Ryu, sitting beside her on the bed she was on, leaning his elbows casually on his knees. His pale eyes swiveled to meet hers.

"You really _do _need me, you know!" the pink blob flew up and unhooked a large, circular pillow-like contraption Nina was beginning to notice was around her neck. Tiny fingers thumped her knee to check her reflexes. Like normal, her leg twitched. "Okay, well everything _seems _good..." She looked back at Ryu. "You're damn lucky I'm still around!"

The Wyndian tried lifting her arm, found she could with surprising ease. Ryu was still staring at her. "You...broke my arm," she said to him slowly, scowling at the memories flooding her foggy mind, "Then you had the gall to go for my _neck_?"

"I told you I would be merciless."

"That doesn't mean you can-"

His hand shot up and _cracked _against hard, crimson scales suddenly covering her throat.

Merybel's jaw hit the floor, Nina's eyes teetered on the edge of her sockets.

He smirked. "And now we've learned something," he commended, pulling his hand back. Two of his fingers were bent awkwardly. He grabbed onto them and with a swift jerk, had them back into position with no more than a twitch.

Nina's chest heaved, cold sweat fell over her in waterfalls. "Y-you're stark raving mad...you know that, dragon?" she whispered, swallowing hard.

"I thought you knew this, Fai'en," he mused.

A tiny hand slapped him across the face. "Master Ryu Braxton, what the hell was _that_? Are you _trying_ to make me look as old as the Matron?'!" Merybel cried grabbing onto his cloak front and violently shaking him.

It didn't stop his laughing. "You would have healed me up again, no problem Mery and you know it!"

"That's besides the point, don't you _ever _do something like that again!"

"You need to know how to respond in these sort of situations anyhow, something like it will probably happen again."

Merybel whirled around to Nina, jamming a finger against the tip of the Wyndian's nose. "It better not happen again, you hear me, dummy? You learn how to use those scales and you use them well or...I'll...I'll..."

Nina caught Ryu's eye over the faerie's tanned shoulder. There was no need. She knew now, the feeling of how much she did _not _want anything to hit her.

He was the best damn teacher she had ever seen.

Merybel followed her look back and sighed, relinquishing her finger. "Forget it, I have things to do." she jumped into the air. "In an hour, the Matron wants to see you both. Run a comb through your hair at least for her, dummy," she said to Nina, sticking out her tongue and leaving nothing but a trail of pink sparkles in the room.

Scales slowly faded back into Nina's skin, "Am I to worry about you every second of the day now?" She asked Ryu after they stared at one another silently for what felt like ages.

There went that smirk again, "Quit drinking so much ambrosia, and we'll talk."

She bit her lip. He snorted laughter.

* * *

Nina knelt alongside Ryu before the Matron's throne, fuming.

Not once on the way there did he attack her, but he went well out of his way to make it seem like he was going to. He would walk close behind her, nudge her harder than necessary, then dash to her other side, giving her a gods awful creepy expressionless face _on purpose_ when she looked his way.

Now his shoulders were quivering with sadistic amusement.

"Master Ryu, Fae Nina, I have called you before me for both praise and an apology," the Matron's soft voice floated down to them from her tall throne.

Nina and Ryu stood. "I told you before, Matron Flora, there's no need to be sorry," said Ryu, "You weren't expecting that woman for a few more years."

"Regardless, I should have let you know of our situation," her eyes went to Nina. "I did not wish to involve you in our affairs."

"You did nothing of the sort, she was already after me," the Wyndian said, "I only hate I couldn't save the one faerie she did manage to get."

Matron Flora shook her wrinkled head gravely. "We did well to have so little lost. I feel my reward is nowhere near enough to make up for your troubles."

"Reward?" Nina was taken aback. Wasn't the celebration her reward?

Ira laughed. "Of course! We are hardly an ungrateful species."

Mio nodded. "She was such a terrible monster! You deserve so much more!"

"Merybel, if you would," Matron Flora called out.

Pink sparkles dashed into the room and materialized into Merybel's form in front of Nina. She held up a silver chain with a large, glowing pink stone on the end of it. With a scowl, she placed it around the Wyndian's neck. "Here," she murmured, with a venom tipped tongue. "From us, with _love._"

Pain seared through the base of Nina's wings as soon as the faerie let go and she cried out, arching her back. Then suddenly, as quickly as it had appeared, the pain disappeared. Heart pounding, she straightened and looked around, perplexed by everyone's calm faces. "What was tha-t!-" She took a step, and fell onto her face.

Ryu rubbed his nose and he and Merybel burst into laughter. Ysela flew down to help, shooting them both a dirty look. Nina pulled herself up slowly. The weighted suit wasn't on her anymore...right? She distinctly remembered taking the horrid thing off! "I-I'm heavy..." she stuttered.

Ysela helped her to her feet. Nina stepped again, this time Ryu caught her shoulders. She frowned into his amused face. What nonsense did Merybel just give her? "Fai'en, you have to stop leaning forward so much," he chuckled, "Mery's pendant made you absorb your wings into your body."

"Wait, what?" She blinked at him. Was she hearing him correctly? Her body _absorbed_ her wings?

Her eyes went to the glowing stone lying against her breast, then behind her at surprisingly empty space. She reached back, expecting to feel them anyways.

"As well as being a healer, Mery specializes in creating magical trinkets. She is the best craftsman _any_ realm has to offer," Ryu said proudly.

Merybel blushed. "Awww, _stop _it, Master!" she giggled.

"I know you thought I was torturing you with that weighted suit," he said to Nina, "but I had Mery enchant it with a gravity condensing spell to give you a taste of how heavy you would be with the wings inside of you."

Nina again tried to wrap her head around it. "Are you saying...the Black Wings...are gone?" she almost whispered.

He shook his head, mischievous eyes softening, "No Fai'en, this is only a temporary solution, but it will allow us to travel freely through populated areas on our way to Drogen. Isn't that almost as good?"

Populated areas. That meant they would be able to sleep in beds, eat _real _food, have _real _interaction with people!

The chance to feel she had a life again!

"Oh Ryu, that's _great _news!" she cried turning around and throwing her arms around Merybel.

"Wh-what the...g-get off of me!"

"Thank you _so _much! Because of you I don't have to sleep in a cave anymore! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"I said let _go_!" Merybel squirmed out of her grasp and hid behind a laughing Ryu. "_Stop_ laughing, dummy!" she cried, popping him lightly on the side of the head.

Nina gleefully took an experimental step forward and managed to distribute her weight correctly not to fall. "Matron Flora, this is probably the best thing you could have done for us!" She exclaimed earnestly, "Thank you!"

The elderly faerie smiled down, "No matter what you state, I will still feel it is not enough."

Another step. Success!

"Come on, Fai'en," Ryu said, walking to and watching her hop on one foot, "The Matron must rest, and we need to get you used to your new weight."

Nina glanced up. Matron Flora's eyes were drooping, her entire body sagged inside of a robe looking like it was growing around her by the second. "Thank you, Master Ryu," she whispered from underneath her tilted down wide brimmed hat. The sages, lead by Ysela, flew over to her and after giving nods to the three below, disappeared into sparkles with the Matron in hand.

"She looked really under the weather... Is she feeling alright?" Nina asked, her eyes following blue, green, red, and purple sparkles dissipating into the air.

"She's an idiot," Merybel said to Ryu.

Nina whirled around, Ryu's hand swiftly caught her shoulder before she fell, "Why are you so _rude?'!_'" she exploded.

"Me, rude? Do you know how many hours I spent making that necklace for you?'!"

"Mery, stop, don't call her an idiot because she is ignorant of faerie ways," Ryu scolded the tiny one on his shoulder, but Nina irritably noticed a smile on his face while he did. Merybel stuck her tongue out at him. He flicked her forehead and looked back to Nina. "I can safely assume you've noticed the Matron's severely different appearance from the other faeries?" Nina nodded, walking with him carefully out of the throne room into the main house's long vine covered hallways. Merybel was angrily flicking him back. He ignored her. "She is only a few centuries older than Mery, but looks that way because an invisible shield around this village is constantly eating at her life force. After their unfortunate introduction to that bastard human Turai, Matron Flora and the sages decided to create it so no race other than faeries would be able to easily get into the village without alerting her."

"Would it have detected Ivory?" Nina asked, eyes wide.

"She was only half a faerie, _dummy_."

"Shh, Mery," Ryu said.

"Well how dumb _is_ she?

Ryu interrupted Nina's retort. "Anyhow, underneath the Matron's throne are her actual living quarters -underground rooms imbued with a limiting spell to help her control the right amount of life force flowing from her into the shield - and while inside, she takes her normal, childish looking form, but the moment she steps out, the shield goes into overdrive and continuously sucks out her energy until she is the tired, withered faerie you are accustomed to. The sages -her guardians- are then forced to feed her their own life force, so that the shield doesn't completely swallow her. You noticed how they are always positioned around her in our meetings?"

"I was wondering why I never saw her at either of our celebrations..."

"Oh, so you thought the Matron wasn't appreciative enough of you to show?" Merybel asked haughtily.

"_No_," Nina made a face at her, "I was only _wondering_."

"Well now you know, alright?" Ryu cut in, "Let's get some breakfast and we'll see what else I can teach you before we set off. I believe in another week I can have you ready to handle yourself adequately."

Nina cringed, remembering the horrible agony of him breaking her arm, the cold, expressionless face he wore before snapping her neck. "Do you have to tutor me so soon?"

"I thought my conditions were clear. Are we having second thoughts?"

"N-no...I just..." she swallowed, wishing Merybel would stop smiling at her like that, "Haven't we done enough today?"

"Today?" Ryu blinked, then laughed, "Fai'en, it's been three days."

"_Three days_?'_!_"

"You both had broken necks, dummy," Merybel snorted. "I'm a damn good healer, but even I have to have a few days for injuries like that."

Ryu laughed again, "It might be best to make some prior preparations, who knows what we might come back with today!"

Nina stopped and stood shaking in her boots. At the base of her neck, tiny bits of scales peeked through her skin. Ryu noticed them.

Merybel sighed with her palm on her forehead. "Alright, but if possible, can you _not _go for the throat? A broken _limb_ is child's play for me, but if I fix your neck wrong, you might end up paralyzed forever! Oh and try not to kill anymore trees!" she added seriously.

"It's a deal!" he said, flashing her a toothy smile.

A silent Nina didn't move from where she was standing.

* * *

"Damnit where _is _it?"

Pale fingers skittered across a desktop like the legs of a frantic spider, rustling and picking up the edges of countless papers scattered about it. They reached the edge, and dug into brunette roots.

Chasta sat back in the King's office chair, sighing. She peered over mountains of papers to the window on the other side of the room. Rain pelted noisily against it. Winds howled and rattled the glass.

Was the King of Wyndia always such a pack rat? she grumbled inside her head, looking at shadows her candle created dancing over books and objects strewn about without any apparent care. How was she supposed to find anything in this mess? It was like looking for a needle in the middle of-

Lightning lit up the room, and Ethan stood before her in front of the desk.

She gasped and kicked the drawers underneath it. The redhead steadied the furniture with one hand, "H-how did you...I-I mean..." Chasta scrambled for her words, then sat up quickly, flashing a smile. "H-he~y there Ethan, what're you doing in here-?"

The tip of one of his swords was at her throat. She raised her hands in surrender. "What business do _you_ have in the King's office, handmaiden?" he asked.

"Geez Ethan, you don't have to be so rough- _ow, it's pricking me you know_!"

"When you are asked a question by me, _Sir Von Buren_, guardian of the royal family, you _will _answer in a timely fashion."

"Hmph, all business I see," Chasta said with a smirk. "If you _must _know, I'm looking for the password to safely warp to Ludia."

"Why?"

"Because if I don't know it, they'll kill me the moment I step out-"

"You know that's not my question."

She sighed, her arms were getting tired. "I'm doing nothing wrong."

Blood trickled down her neck. "_Answer _me."

"I want to ask the Prince to be the one to kill Nina, are you happy?" she spat. He didn't remove his sword. Her eyes narrowed. "Nina is the Angel of Death, Ethan, whether you like it or not. She has to die. The prophecy says so."

His intense stare didn't leave her. "It is not your place to stage what happens to her."

"It's not yours either!" She leaned back and pushed the blade away. "And you know damn well you can't do anything about it. The only reason I sneaked in here instead of simply asking the King is because he locked himself up in his bedroom days ago!" She watched in triumph, Ethan slowly lower his sword. "What's that look for, _Von Buren_?" she pressed, "Are you afraid of what the prince will do before he kills her, hmm?" she smiled, "I really hope it turns out that way, In fact, I'm _counting _on it."

"What did she ever do to you?" he asked, the gentleness in his tone making Chasta sick.

She snorted, cupping her chin in her hand, "You really are something, Von Buren. I've heard a lot about you...how you're one of the most ruthless apprentices the AG ever had to take in, and how much you _love_ to frequent places filled with unsavory women, yet still, someone like that would allow the prude Princess of Elanaar to keep hold of their leash...? Now, tell me, how is that?"

His face was stone against her criticism. "She believes you a friend, and has never treated you as anything other, and you would choose the person who would humiliate her the most? Why?"

Her hand dropped, she crossed her arms over her chest. "I _despise_ the royal family," she said through tight lips. "All of them."

"For what reason?"

"Oh don't say it like it surprises you. You should hate them as well!"

"The royal Wyndian family has done nothing to warrant feelings like those from me."

"Lies!" Chasta spat. "They've made you a slave just like me!"

"I am no slave. I am bound by blood."

"You're a slave because you had no choice whether or not to follow an oath made centuries before you were born!"

"And you?"

Candlelight danced over her scowl. "My family was killed by our righteous King. I watched it happen. I was lucky. None of the soldiers must've felt like harming a child, so they took me to the castle to see what His Majesty would decree. As I was standing there in front of him, eight years old and scared to death I was about to be thrown into the streets, or worse, prison, Nina wandered into the throne room...and assumed I was her new playmate. She couldn't be convinced otherwise, so that was what I became...her _toy,_" she literally spat the word.

"Tethanil York was the main provider of spell amplifiers to the eastern black markets. He was hardly innocent," Ethan said.

"Maybe not, but my mother was!" Chasta cried. "Those soldiers had no right to do what they did!"

"And Princess Nina herself gave them the order?" Chasta rolled her eyes at him, "Shouldn't you be thanking her for giving you a better life than the slums? She is hardly the slave driver you paint her out to be, and you've always had free reign over the these grounds for as long as I've known you. I can think of many jobs in this castle you wouldn't dare dirty your hands with. Stable keeper? Toilet scrubber? How is being the princess' personal handmaiden such a bad deal?" He asked, showing not so much a flicker of sympathy for her loss.

She slammed her hands onto the desk. A pile of papers slid off onto the floor. "I would have never chosen to sacrifice my family just to live in this place with _her._ I _hate _that girl! I've always hated her! She cries over the _stupidest _things...she's handed everything on a godsdamn mithril platter surrounded by puppies and kittens and yet she _still _finds something to complain about! So what she got married off to Ludia? She was marrying a _prince_, and still she yearned for some goddess awful childish, sappy, fairy tale where you took her away from all her 'problems'...Gods I _hate _her! I should have killed her before any of this Angel business happened!"

Ethan stared at her. "You really are quite the actress, you know. Until now, there was always doubt in my mind you could hate the Princess as much as my father warned."

"Psh, _Lucius..._what a _bother,._" she said, waving her hand. "I was so glad when he was taken out; I was sick of his scrutinizing eyes always on my back."

"I'm sure Ironsides' didn't feel any better."

She shivered at the mention of that woren's name, "Enough about this, don't you have better things to do? Like, well, your _job_? Nina is no longer your priority, so you can forget about me listening to a word you have to say about—ooo _yes, _I _found _it!" She leaned down in the chair and snatched a piece of paper gleefully from the floor.

Thunder boomed, lightning illuminated the room again. "She's always loved you, Chasta. You should think more about what you're doing," Ethan said, never moving his hunter green orbs from her emerald ones.

Chasta smiled, standing up, folding the paper neatly and tucking it inside of her bra, "And I'm going to love Vahn ripping her apart," she laughed. "And why shouldn't I? Like I said before to you and your dead girl, she's a terrible, _horrible_ monster, and the world would be _much _better off without her."

* * *

Fireflies parted to make way for Ryu skidding to a stop by digging his fingers hard into the ground. He threw up his left arm and heard Nina's knee _crack _against the scales covering it. His own shattered one gave away underneath him. She didn't miss a beat, without an utterance of pain, she ripped off her necklace and caught her balance with wings bursting out of her back so dark, they were an ink blot against even the blackness of Darkwood.

She was smiling. His dragon eyes could see it.

"You can't afford to break the other one," she mused, swinging her other around and catching him across the face.

He took the hit with with the same smile; she cracked a few of his back teeth with that one.

"Could even _you_ break scales anyhow?"

He grabbed onto her crimson shin, yellow eyes laughing. "I wonder..."

"I _dare _you," she beat her wings harder against his pull.

She was still smiling, and he was having _fun._

Spells would have been the better offensive for her, but the more he pushed her to tap into his soul's powers for defense, the more she seemed to unconsciously resort to his tactics of close combat, and against all odds, it was working for her. She became graceful, lithe, almost dragon-like in her movements, and without the necklace on to weigh her down, she could almost keep up with him. Her hits -when she did manage to get them- actually had some sustenance to them, her tolerance for pain flew through the roof -he knew she had sacrificed her knee to cripple him-, and her mouth...

By Ladon, was she _arrogant _like this.

The tips of his fingers crunched into her scales as he squeezed, "Are you sure it is wise to provoke me?" he asked.

"Are _you _sure of the same?" she retorted, mouth widening enough for him to see her canines had grown.

New scales popped up to replace the ones he had broken, and spiked straight through his hand. He howled and ripped it off, leaping back, stumbling on his bum leg. Glowing blue dragonflies buzzed around him. He flicked his head when one landed on it.

The Wyndian took one look at him wringing blood off of his hand and suddenly burst into wild laughter echoing loudly throughout the forest, "I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." she gasped, clutching her stomach. "It's just, me getting hits on you is _so _humorous don't you think? I can't stop laughing! You think you're _so_ strong, yet a little girl like me is beating you down-"

Winds rustled. Amber eyes blinked, and the tip of his bone blade was pricking her forehead. A tiny stream of blood trickled down both her and Ryu's faces. "Would you like to repeat that?" he growled, eyes narrowing. Mock him, will she? He knew he had pushed her extra hard today, but he would not tolerate insults!

She smiled sweetly, completely unfazed, "Aww, I touched a soft spot."

Maybe she was getting _too _many of his traits.

He glared at her in silence then retracted his blade, turning sharply away. "Break time." He dropped down onto the grass. "Call Mery to come fix our knees. We will resume after we eat."

"No. I want to continue as soon as we are healed," she said, flying over and picking up her necklace from the grass, her own limp leg was dragging. She didn't seem to care. "I still haven't tried casting a spell and using the scales at the same time."

"You don't need me for that. Practice it yourself," he muttered.

"Scared?"

A low growl rumbled deep in his throat, made the laugh coming out of him next, scratchy, "Do not be a fool, I cower before no Fai'en." A dragonfly landed on his leg stretched out in front of him, spreading out its strange webbed wings. Fireflies fluttered above the black surface of the lake beside them. In the distance, the falls could be heard emptying into it.

"Not even before you were strapped to that statue of the goddess?"

Ryu's mouth twitched. Nina suddenly gasped and clapped both hands over hers.

Fear dispersed the cockiness in her demeanor. "R-Ryu...I'm sorry, I-"

"Call Merybel," he repeated harshly, turning away towards the fireflies.

She raised the glowing pink stone of her necklace to quivering lips. "A-alright..."

He picked up a rock, and chucked it hard into the lake.

* * *

Lissa slouched at Prince Vahn's desk in her own form, tiny body swimming inside a stylish black and cream pinstripe suit, lazily drawing tiny circles with a pen on a piece of paper in front of her. Behind her, Stella yawned loudly from her crouched position in the shadows.

Lissa's circles darkened.

It had been a week since the prince left, and neither her nor her psycho fox warden had received any word from him. Her bright blue eyes arched around the room. She was sick of these walls. Rather than risk revealing herself, she decided to avoid all human contact as much as possible and holed herself up in the prince's office, telling everyone she had a very contagious, debilitating stomach virus.

She put dots in some of the circles, making them look like little emotionless faces staring up at her.

It wasn't _terrible_...Stella would grab meals for her from the kitchen and there was a really comfortable couch in there to use for a bed and a radio...but dear _gods _she was going stir crazy.

So was Stella. She made sure Lissa was well aware.

"I hope today's tha day you slip, gal. I be cravin' tha city lights."

It was getting old. "Yea, yea I know," Lissa muttered, then swallowed when she heard a knife flip open. "I'm just saying I know because you tell me everyday! Please don't get angry!" she added quickly, waving her hands in front of her.

Sparkling dust swirled up from the ground in front of them and without a second thought, Lissa threw down her pen and jumped out of her chair, tripping over baggy trousers in the process. "Va~hn!" she cried, "Gods, I'm so glad you're back! Stella won't quit threatening to kill me and I-"

She stopped short. The dust was gone, and in its place, was a blue winged Wyndian wearing a long black jacket over what looked like a handmaiden's outfit.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I in the wrong place? I thought this was his office. I'm looking for Prince Vahn. Can you help me?" The high pony-tailed brunette asked sweetly, curtseying.

Lissa blinked at her. Wyndia was not on good terms with Ludia anymore, but the warp way was still open for any leader to use because of the Angel of Death crisis. How did this common (she noticed how small her wings were) girl warp here without the council knowing? "H-how...?" Stella's throat cleared in the darkness. Remembering herself, Lissa threw the papers she was drawing on in the air in front of her and transformed with a yelp back into the prince. "Wh-why yes, it is I, Prince Vahn," she awkwardly stated in Vahn's voice, bowing respectfully.

The Wyndian smirked, folding her arms over her chest. "My, my, well isn't the Prince of Ludia _interesting_? Taking the form of little girls in his spare time, bowing to handmaidens..."

The prince gulped and straightened, eyes shifting. "I-I have lots of...respect for a working woman!"

"I hear you'll do a lot of things for a woman if she works for it," she purred, walking forward.

Lissa backed up against the desk, the brunette took hold of the tie around her neck. "W-w-well I..." What was she going to do? This girl was getting even _closer._

"What's this, you're _shy _as well?" Her mouth was right on her ear. Lissa wanted to cry. One of the handmaiden's lacy, black thigh high covered legs was rubbing against her, one of her hands tangled into Vahn's long locks, and then, the lips resting on her ear said something Lissa wasn't prepared for. "It's obvious you're not him, and I would love to hear the story, but it looks like that fox back there has hold of your tongue. If you want, I can get rid of her so you can talk all you want."

The blood pulsing in Lissa's cheeks flowed back into her brain. The end of Stella's tyranny? That sounded like a _great_ idea.

She clutched the Wyndian's shoulder, and the handmaiden laughed softly, "Alright then," She pulled back, lifting one of her sleeves. Vahn's pale blue eyes went to a black metal cuff on the girl's arm covered in tiny green runes. It sparked and Stella toppled forward onto the ground.

Vahn's form became Lissa, staring wide eyed at the fox snoring loudly. "H-how? What did you-"

"A spell amplifier," Chasta said taking it off and rubbing red skin where it was touching. "It injects highly potent condensed magic into the bloodstream. She'll be asleep for awhile."

"That kind of stuff is-"

"Outlawed. Yeah, I know. I have ways."

Lissa began to think maybe she shouldn't have bargained with this woman so quickly, but Stella's threats were driving her mad! "W-why are you looking for Vahn?" she ventured.

The Wyndian held out her hand. "First of all I want to introduce myself. I'm Chasta York. I'm...well I guess you could call me the head handmaiden in the Wyndian castle."

"...Lissa Ludiaste," Lissa said fumbling through a long sleeve to find her hand. She shook Chasta's when she did.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Chasta reached into the top of her blouse and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "'Blondie brownies!'" Lissa's eyebrow raised. Chasta's emerald eyes shifted nervously. "That _is _the password, right? The guards outside where I first warped in accepted it!"

"He picked _'blondie brownies' _to be the warp way clearance password?" Lissa asked incredulously. It _was _his favorite desert, but seriously? Sometimes the prince was such a _child_.

"So where is he anyways?" Chasta asked looking around, "I have a very important favor to ask of him."

"He left," Lissa said, "He's making me take his place while he goes after the Angel." She'd answer any of this girl's questions; spell amplifiers were no joke. Although her wielding one as a Wyndian was a little ironic...

Chasta gasped, "That was exactly what I was going to ask him to do! When did he leave and where was he heading?"

"A week ago. He didn't say where he was going."

The brunette sat down on the couch, buttoning up her top a little more. "And here I thought I was going to have to do some persuading."

Lissa blushed. "Um, well, so you were just going to warp in on the prince like that? You could have knocked."

"I heard he likes spontaneity."

"I see..." Her eyes went to Stella on the floor. She was going to be awful angry when she woke up...

"Geez, if I had only thought of this sooner...I wanted to go with him!" Chasta bit at one of her black painted nails.

"You'd want to face the Angel?"

"I wanted to watch her demise."

Lissa tore her eyes away from Stella. "He...isn't going to kill her."

Chasta stopped biting. "What? Why? She's the Angel of Death!"

"He says it's love...but he can't openly be married to her so I don't understand..."

"What, like he wants to keep her as a pet?"

Lissa's cheeks turned red. "That's...what I think he wants... b-but how could he do that with the Angel of Death? Surely he can't keep something like that for his own entertainment."

Chasta wasn't listening anymore, she was smiling from ear to ear, "This is going better than I thought! I have to figure out where he's heading! I want to help him find her as soon as possible! Are you sure he didn't say anything?"

Lissa blinked. "N-nothing. Only threatened to kill me if I didn't pose as him." She looked back to Stella. "And now I'm sure she's going to kill me when she awakens."

"Then come with me," Chasta said, reaching into one of her jacket's pockets and pulling out another amplifying bracelet.

Lissa shook her head quickly, eyes wide at the cursed contraption, "No, no, he'll be so angry! The whole reason he made me do this is because as the current leader of Ludia, he isn't supposed to leave the castle grounds!"

"Try this on. See if it amplifies your powers enough to change the fox into Vahn's long lost twin." Chasta tossed her the bracelet.

"I-I don't know...Aren't these made with-" The blonde looked over it cautiously.

"Yes, they are, but if it doesn't bother me, it really shouldn't bother you, right?"

Lissa swallowed. It felt so much heavier than it actually was. "I'm no mage..." she said, mouth dry.

"But you do possess the ability to use magic." The girl's elfin-like Wyndian eyes were almost commanding. "Try it. Wouldn't it be more fun to come with me than possibly be killed by this mutt?"

She had a point. Lissa sighed and slipped the bracelet around her wrist. The metal fastened itself together and small pinkish runes slowly etched themselves into its surface. It was as fascinating as it was frightening.

"Ahh, so cosmetic magic is pink, I always wondered," Chasta commented.

Lissa walked over to Stella and held her hand out. She closed her eyes, filled her mind with thoughts of how the fox _really _resembled Prince Vahn, and suddenly felt fire injected into her veins. She cried out, Chasta steadied her jerking arm. "Easy, easy! The first time is always the worst!" Clenching her teeth, Lissa pushed the spell onto Stella, and ripped the bracelet off of her wrist.

"There, now was that so hard?" Lissa heard Chasta ask. She opened tear filled eyes to see Vahn sleeping soundly on the floor in Stella's place.

"It...worked?" She breathed.

"See, the pain was worth it." Lissa rubbed her swollen red wrist. "Your shackles are broken. Shall I help you pack your things?"

It all sounded too good to be true to Lissa. Was she just putting yet another pair of cuffs on her wrists? "I don't know how long the spell will last on her."

"We'll plead for Vahn's forgiveness when we meet him," Chasta winked. "I liked what I saw of him enough that I wouldn't mind sacrificing myself for the cause."

Lissa blushed again, "That's fine and all...but..."

Chasta thrust out her bottom lip in a pout, "If you don't go it's just going to be me and whatever soldiers I manage to persuade to give me a ride. It would be nice to have another female around for companionship."

"Y-you would trust me to be that close? I am a Ludian."

"You don't seem to be that type," Chasta said, "Plus your little talent might come in handy one day, if you would be so honored as to share its benefits."

Lissa looked again to Vahn's image on the floor. The spell wasn't showing any signs of fading anytime soon. Surely he wouldn't care, they were going to help him!

Dear gods she just wanted _out _of this room!

"Alright, I'll go," the blonde said, then added with a nervous sigh, "I really hope you're as good as you come off to be with men."

"Don't worry," Chasta said with a knowing smile, "I know _exactly _how to deal with them."

* * *

Nina lay in her magical faerie bed staring at the fan above her oscillating slowly, arms folded behind her head. Toes at the bottom of crossed legs continuously pointed forward nervously.

Since her insult, Ryu had spoken to her only once more that day, and that was to tell her in a very stern voice he had decided they were leaving the village tomorrow, and they both should rest for the remainder of the night. She twisted a lock of hair around one of her fingers, failing her vow not to concentrate on the guilt tearing at her stomach.

Could she have said something _more _awful to him?

Ryu's soul explained her using his dragon powers meant allowing a part of him to meld completely with her, and of course, with him came a bit of the Kaiser as well. All three lumped together created a seriously arrogant, brash, _frightening _version of herself she loathed. The more Ryu provoked her, the more she would feel her control slip. Her body would move on its own, her mind would start to orchestrate its own thoughts; she'd watch herself dodge blows he was sending faster than she knew her mind could comprehend, her limbs propelling her into deadly, nimble dances there was no way possible she alone could choreograph.

And this was all before the terrifying thirst for the dragon's blood would begin.

She turned over in the bed and hugged her knees close, curling up and sticking out her tongue in disgust.

The longer her sparring sessions with Ryu, the more aware she became of the irresistible crimson ambrosia flowing inside of him. Her senses would go into overdrive obsessing over it; it was damn near impossible to think of anything else. Her ears would focus on the beating of his heart they heard so clearly, and the faster it pumped, the faster did hers. Any close contact with him almost drove her insane. Thick veins pulsing on either side of his muscular neck would draw her eyes, the tantalizing scent of his sweat and any open wounds he might have would fill her nose with an embarrassing relish, her mouth would salivate at the mere thought of sinking her teeth deep into his tanned flesh...

She thanked the Goddess everyday she had the remainder of Ryu's soul there to talk her out of doing the many maddeningly gruesome thoughts fighting planted into her mind.

_You're welcome, _he whispered to her.

She pulled one of the pillows from behind her head down and hugged it. "I'm sorry I was mean to you today," she murmured into it. "I know you know it, but I wanted to say it out loud. It makes me feel better for some reason."

The only good thing resulting from Ryu's constant training, was that it seemed to tire the Kaiser out. As of late he had been in neither her dreams nor her consciousness like he had promised, and that left Ryu's soul free to talk to her whenever he pleased.

_If it calms you, then please, say it all you wish._

And ever since she confronted the Kaiser with promises to destroy him, the child was more than eager to listen to her vent without question.

He was fast becoming her only friend.

"He _has _to understand!" she whined, pounding her fist against the pillow. "It's not all me! I would _never _say something like that after knowing what happened to him! Ugh, it was that bastard Kaiser's influence, I _know _it!"

_You are probably correct._

She rolled onto her back. The pink stone on her breast shined bright. How weird it was actually feeling the mattress without wings in the way. "Ryu doesn't know I know about the fate of his family at the hands of a 'Fai'en', so how could he begin to believe me?" Why wasn't her soul standing up for her like his always did him?

_Just because he's not showing it, doesn't mean she isn't trying to reason._

"I hope so," Nina said, though she doubted it. If he treated it anywhere near how he treated her, it was probably scared for its life.

_Now Fai'en, I am hardly the unbearable barbarian you believe me to be._

"_You _aren't, but I'd really like for _him _to prove it one day," she muttered, closing her eyes to drift into a fretful sleep.

* * *

"You need to stop being so hard on the girl."

"Why? I'm treating her like assassins inevitably will. She needs to know what she's up against."

"And you won't stop until she experiences _everything_ horrible that could happen?"

"Since when is being prepared a bad thing?"

Ryu stood with Nina's soul on her balcony in Wyndia, watching winds whip her long blonde hair away from a severe scowl. "She is a child."

"Thrown into an adult world. It's about time she's waken from her naivety. I can't afford to waste time babysitting."

"Expecting her to be you, Ryu, is ludicrous. You've seen more despair and carnage in your twenty-five years than she might in three lifetimes. She's barely witnessed anything more than a castle wall! You _have _to take that into consideration!"

He squinted his eyes at the setting sun's golden rays peeking around the soul's silhouette. "What makes you think you could possibly know about what I've seen?" he growled.

Amber softened. She held all of her hair against one shoulder, "We've been bound for quite awhile now, and the Kaiser seems to be uninterested in my presence unless I stand up to him. I've had a lot of time to look into your memories-"

His eyes widened, the pupils became almost invisible in the sun's light.

"Do not fret," she added quickly. "She and I do not share the same mind's eye, just like you and the part of you within her do not."

His whole body sighed.

The soul's brow furrowed, "Why is it so necessary no one knows about you, dragon?"

"No one needs to. For what purpose does anyone need to know anything about me?" he snapped, swinging his arm out. "You will stay out of my personal affairs, girl! Remember, your stay here was not invited!"

She hopped down from the railing. "I find it very hard to comprehend how you are stable enough to function properly after all the things that have happened to you," she said, nearing him. "The things she made you do..." she reached up, laid a hand gently on his arm.

"Enough! Close your mouth this instant!" he bristled shrugging her off, stepping away with his teeth bared.

She lowered her hand, "Why are you so afraid for someone to care about you?" she asked softly, giving him a hurtful look.

"I don't need anyone to care about me," he snarled, "And I especially don't need _you_."

"You can't make me not, and I think that's what angers you the most."

He scowled at her in silence, listing to the winds howl against the white walls of the castle. Behind her radiant white wings, the sun dipped, and the sky became a deep blue ocean of stars. "You are unaware of the foolishness you speak," he said, suddenly becoming uncomfortable in her gaze.

"I'm quite aware of what I saw, and nothing you say will make me feel any different."

Winds caught his hair and cloak. She reached up this time to caress his face and he slapped her hand away, "Annoyance!" he spat, "Begone! Ladon forbid, I only wish to be left in peace!"

* * *

Ryu's forced his eyes open, and his dreamworld was replaced by a dazzling view of three colorful planets surrounded by glittering stars. He yawned and stretched his arms above his head, remembering he had decided for his last night in the faerie realm, he would sleep outside on Merybel's backyard hammock.

He smirked. Thank the mighty dragon lord he slept light this night, and his will to dodge that girl's ridiculous nonsense was strong enough to-

_I can speak to you outside of your dreams as well, you know._

Ryu steadied himself after almost falling out of the hammock, face darkening. "No, I was not aware your influence was strong enough now to do so."

_Isn't it fun to learn new things?_

He winced from a growing headache pounding against his skull, "I can barely stand for one of you to mouth off to me, now _you_ want to start as well?"

_That was for slapping me away so rudely._

Ryu grinded both of his palms into his eyes. "Why must you torment me so?" he groaned.

_Stop tormenting my body, and maybe I'll entertain the idea of doing the same for you._

The palms slid down his cheeks. He'd give anything not to hear her constant hounding, even for only a night. "Alright," he surrendered, "I promise I will not break any more limbs of hers without proper notice first."

_This isn't a joke, Ryu. For once be civil... She's a "Fai'en", but she's a person too just like you with feelings. Right now she's scared of what's going to happen, and what's happening to her. You know the Kaiser shows up in that poor girl's eyes when you push her too hard; she doesn't know what she says when she's like that so you shouldn't hold a grudge- _

He laughed sharply, "I would never take the time to dwell on any meaningless comment she might make, so please, do not flatter yourself or her wondering about it."

_Then why so broody?_

"If she thinks I'm angry with her she leaves me alone, is that a good enough answer?"

_But I can feel irritation simmering..._

"Due to _you _most likely!" he snarled, "I agreed with your conditions, now follow up with mine!"

A tiny, sad sigh floated across his mind. _If it pleases you._

Ryu leaned his head back on the hammock and listened.

Silence. Wonderful, peaceful, silence.

Soft breezes jostled colorful leaves from the treetops above to drift onto him. Birds sang lightly into the air.

It would be best to enjoy this while he could; he didn't know if what he had in store for the girl tomorrow would be considered "torment" by her or her soul.

A soft _tsk, tsk, tsk _grated his last nerve.

He sat up, and angrily punched the tree behind him.

* * *

Ysela floated in front of Ryu, tiny hands attached to tiny hips. "Are we done destroying flora for now, Master Ryu?" she asked.

He scratched the back of his head. Nina gaped at a gigantic dent in one of the trees holding Merybel's hammock. "This is the last time, I swear."

"You wouldn't be swearing only because you were _leaving_, now would you?" Ysela flew to the tree and laid her hands onto it. Green sparks flowed into the bark, and the dent filled back in like nothing had ever happened.

"Whatever would give you that idea?" The faerie rolled her eyes at the dragon.

Nina hiked a large backpack higher onto her back awkwardly – wearing one was something she had never had the opportunity to do before with wings- and glanced around, tapping her foot apprehensively. She was nervous about being in the open again, wingless or not.

"Do you have everything?" Ira asked.

Her bag was stuffed with food and herbs, his: clothes. "I believe so," Ryu said swinging his pack around to his front and rummaging through it one last time.

"Are you sure you don't want to wait until the village wakes up? We can have a nice breakfast before you go..." Mio asked, blue eyes bright.

Ryu shook his head. "I don't trust myself not to stuff my face and stay another week in this peace," he said with a smile.

The sages all sighed collectively. Ysela spoke first. "I guess it can't be helped, you can't stay here forever, can you Master Ryu?"

"We'll miss you, Master!" Mio cried.

"Do not wait another five hundred years to visit again," Ira added, fiery eyes narrowing.

"I won't, I promise!"

"Thank you for everything you've done for us. Please tell this to the Matron again as well," Nina said earnestly, bowing her head to them. As she did, her eyes went to Merybel floating by Ryu's shoulder. Strangely, not a word of farewell had left the pink faerie's lips.

"Good luck, Fae Nina. We will always remember what you've done for us," Ysela smiled, bowing her head back to the Wyndian from behind the sages. "And Mery...please be careful in your endeavors. Try to get into less trouble in their realm than you do in your own."

Nina's mouth dropped. "You don't mean-"

"Alright then, shall we move on?" Merybel's hands glowed, and she slapped them against air. A cloud of shimmering pink mist appeared from where they hit and spread until it was big enough for them to walk through. Ryu grabbed onto the shocked Wyndian's arm.

Merybel darted into the pendant around her neck, and Ryu pulled Nina through the mist.

* * *

"You didn't say _she _was coming!"

"_And I'm soo~ooo excited to be stuck around _your _neck!"_

Nina covered her ears, "Getting rid of those wings was too good to be true, I _knew _there would be some sort of catch!" She paced back and forth in front of their campfire, "It wouldn't be my life if there wasn't a catch!"

"Calm down, Fai'en. Mery's assistance will be crucial in the future," Ryu said leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, firelight flickering eerily against his eyes. "Besides, it costs a lot of magic to keep those wings inside of you. Without her feeding it, it wouldn't last an hour outside of its realm."

Nina puffed out her cheeks. Annoyingly good point. "W-well, it's still...she's still..." she sighed loudly. "Fine! I guess we need her, huh?"

"_Damn right you need me, dummy! Now stop complaining so much, you're bothering Master!" _Merybel's high pitched voice sounded from the crystal.

Ryu nodded. "She's right, you are."

"So I'm not allowed to voice my opinion?"

"You can voice it, but not so loud, I beg of you."

Fuming, Nina plopped down on the grass. Winds whispered through the tall tree tops above them. She reached into her bag and took out a loaf of cheese bread. She tore off an angry bite. Ryu picked up a stick and poked at the crackling fire. Embers danced into the air. Through the trees, Nina could see the lights of a city glimmering in the distance. "Why are we sitting out here in the wilderness? I look no different than a human now. We should be able to walk into the city without problem," she said after swallowing. At first she was nervous, but the thought of sleeping on the ground again didn't interest her in the least bit.

"Did you forget where we are? We need to be cautious."

"Yes, I know we're technically in Ludia, but remember, no wings!" She jutted her thumb back to empty space.

"You still resemble the Princess of Wyndia. We have to do something about it before one foot gets set on those grounds."

She made a face at him. "And what would we do? It's not like I can dye my hair or anything. Neither one of us knows cosmetic enchants!"

He stood. Firelight glinted off of his armored legs, the chain mail clinging to his torso. "I have an idea." He walked over to her and snatched a handful of her hair.

"Wait, wh-what the! _What are you doing-!'?_" She heard a _ripping _noise, and watched, in horror, a huge clump of honey locks fall to the ground.

Her stomach dropped. Her hands fumbled for it numbly.

Did he just...? Livid eyes came up, burned holes of hatred into his flesh.

"Are you _serious_? Did you just chop off my _hair_?_'!_" She balled a fist and swung it at him; he barely leaned back and it missed. She stood and swung again. Again, he evaded. "Stand still and let me hit you, you _bastard_!" she cried, tears in her eyes. "I've never in my life cut my hair! I love long hair and you ruined it! _Ruined_, you _ass_! _STOP MOVING AROUND!_"

He put his palm on her forehead and held her at arm's length. She swung underneath to no avail. "Stop this nonsense, you know as much as I do this is necessary," he said.

"No it's _not! _And you only chopped one side! _One side of my hair is shorter than the other!_ People will stare at me _more_ now, you idiot!" she shrieked hysterically.

"I'll get the other side too, if you want."

"_No, _you stay _away _from me!" She jumped back from him.

"Every soldier in Ludia is going to remember exactly what you look like, Fai'en. This is for your own good."

Nina felt the right side of her hair brush just above her shoulder and burst into even more tears. "What about you! They know what you look like too! Cut your hair as well!"

The dragon snorted. "I refuse."

"You _refuse_? I couldn't refuse, so you can't either!" she cried pointing.

He smiled, "I doubt you have the capability to do anything." She kicked a burning piece of wood from the fire up at him. He moved out of its way, raising an eyebrow. Nina glared at him. If only she was faster...

Right, she'd borrow his soul's strength. Just the legs. She just needed one good pounce.

"It's better to give up before you embarrass yourself any further- h-hey-!"

The power came easy. Maybe it was because she was already furious with him. It surged through her legs, awakening muscles she didn't know she had, and with the swiftness of a kitten, she leaped onto him. He stepped backwards to regain balance as her arms encircled his neck. "You probably shouldn't underestimate _yourself_, dragon." She grasped a hunk of his hair, and lit it on fire. He pried her off and she laughed at him dancing around, furiously slapping at her magical flames. "I don't have the capability to what again?" she smirked.

The pink stone around her neck flashed and Merybel popped out of it. "Master Ryu, are you alright?!" she cried, flying over to him, cheeks puffed with her blowing to help put out the fire. Nina didn't have time to brace for the pain; her wings burst out of her back.

Ryu snarled at the faerie, eyes wild, "You are to never leave that stone unless I say, Merybel, do you understand me? Those wings can never show!" He closed his hands around the last of the fire.

"M-master, I.."

"_Get back in!_" Merybel nodded quickly and flew back into the pendant. Nina braced for the pain she knew would come with them absorbing back in. "As for you...," She looked up into his dark stare, feeling his hatred roll over her like the Kaiser's aura. "How _dare _you." His hair was a mess. One side was burnt almost to his chin, and the other was now missing patches all throughout.

"Good! I hope you're angry!" she cried grabbing her long side and holding it up. "You think I enjoyed you ruining mine-?"

He rushed forward, and slashed through that clump as well.

She clenched her teeth, staring through tears at the strands now blanketing her boots. Her hands ignited with magical flames, and watery amber narrowed to match his glower, "I'm going to make you wish your soul never taught me to play with fire!" She growled pouncing on him again.

* * *

_It's her! I saw tha wings! I saw 'em! Let's rip 'em off, Z! C'mon, can we?'!_

Emotionless black eyes watched the dragon rolling around on the ground with the girl through jet black bangs. He didn't understand the language they were yelling at each other, but he could see she was clearly fighting hard to light him on fire.

_We must be careful, Master Alabaster. He might look harmless now playing with that girl, but this dragon almost had Von Buren._

_Screw a dragon! Tha demon's what we came fo'! C'mon let's fight 'er!"_

"Patience."

The eyes left the squabbling two and disappeared into the darkness of the forest.

* * *

**A/N: **It seems I'm always apologizing for my lateness. This one had to take a backseat to Dragon Age 2 for a bit. Ty for your continued support (over 100 reviews yay!) and I hope to keep you all with me for the long run! Oh btw, did anyone notice Ryu has always been a lefty? Just like meee =3


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

_It Is Expected For Someone Who's Lived the Majority of Their Life As A Shadow, To Be Unnerved By This Much Attention_

Chamba.

Ludians once proclaimed the city to be the eastern world's doorway to the mysterious, captivating cultures of the desert dwelling Shydian people.

That was before they were pulled into dark alleyways and mugged for everything they owned.

* * *

Nina could see nothing but sand, little white rocks scattered about in tufts of dry, brown grass, flapping dirty leather straps, and scuffling, blood smudged, dented metal boots as Ryu shouldered his way through the crowded city streets with her, holding down the hood of the large beige cloak she was wearing securely over her face.

Conversations in the familiar -yet sadly almost foreign to her now- common tongue alerted her sensitive ears, triggered happiness along with painful nostalgia to swell. Rough voices, ordering smaller, timider ones around, merchants jovially competing against each other shouting their wares to the public, women asking men if they wanted to join them for the night, drunks slurring nonsense, authorities yelling after thieves...

How wonderful it was to hear _life _again!

Scents of sizzling meats and vegetables flogged her rumbling stomach. She clutched it, wiping away a bit of embarrassing drool from her bottom lip. Half the merchants must be selling food, she groaned inwardly. That bit of cheese bread she had earlier was the only thing she'd eaten all day, and bread was about all the faeries had sent with them. She tugged at Ryu's cloak, turning her head up at the dragon. Red tubes of lights curled into words flashed behind him on tall, two to three story buildings. A pair of heavily tattooed men leaned out of a rickety balcony underneath, chugging large, frothy topped metal mugs and passing a cigarette between them. One was missing an eye. She stared at his empty socket. "I'm hungry," she whined quietly to Ryu when another pang in her gut brought her intentions forcefully back, "Get us something, will you? We haven't anything to eat but bread and dried fruit and dear _Goddess _it's taking us way too long to find a barber! I'm sure there are other people around eating with hoods on and we won't look strange!"

"We are fixing this mess before we do _anything_," rumbled the darkness of his cowl, and he pulled hers roughly back down.

"_Dummy..." _she heard Merybel's voice creep from her breast. She hit her fist against the jewel as if that would do anything.

They walked five hundred more steps -Nina counted them in a vain attempt to keep her mind off of food- before Ryu led her through a doorway made of tiny hanging pink wooden heart beads. Her eyebrows raised underneath her cowl. Pink hearts?

Winds rippled their cloaks as they walked into a room with such clean, polished wooden flooring, it almost shamed Nina to be dirtying it with her dusty boots. She smelled soap, could hear fans oscillating on either side of them as well as girls giggling and talking with one another excitedly. A man sneezed across the room. There was music playing with a woman singing in a slow, sultry voice.

"_What service would you like tonight Mr. Tompson?" _came a cutesy girl's voice to her right.

"_Oh, you know what I need, Candice," _an young man answered her, _"You're always so good at it too; I never want to go to anyone else!"_

Nina quickly became very uncomfortable. What was this? A _brothel_? Was this dragon _serious? _Taking her some place she would never in her wildest dreams _ever _want to step foot into when they were supposed to be-

"Um, Welcome to Luci's Lovely Locks, can I...uhh...help you?" a cautious female voice came from the front.

Nina's hood was jerked back. Behind a high wooden counter with a handwritten poster attached to it advertising the name of the shop on it in large, pink bubbly letters and prices for various hair services in smaller black print, she saw the large green eye (The other was covered by long, bright purple bangs) of a young woren girl widen, and her pink painted clawed hands cover a gaping mouth. Around the room, hair dressers and their clients alike turned to stare.

The already scarlet hue on the Wyndian's cheeks deepened. These were looks of absolute _horror. _

"Tigress's whiskers_, _you just got attacked by _bandits _didn't you!'?" the woren cried, hopping over the counter to them. The rest of her head was shaved. She was wearing tight black leather and chain mail pants with a snug "Luci's Lovely Locks" shirt over a just as fitting chain mail shirt. It wasn't a brothel, but Nina concluded the girls in one probably didn't look too different. "Bandits that," amusement poured over her face as she went from Ryu's mangled, singed mane, to Nina's shabby, baggy pants under her cloak and tunic. "..._really _despised hair and clothes...?"

Nina made a face. Ryu stopped any retorts with a firm hand gesture in front of her. "We are in desperate need of your help," he said in common, thick with his accent. The cat girl's eyes snapped back to him. "As you said, we seem to have fallen on some bad luck." He smiled without showing teeth.

Any conversations happening to still be going in the room abruptly stopped. Necks craned. All eyes went curiously to Ryu. "I got 'im," called a tall, thin Shydian girl in the same outfit as the woren with short, spiky black hair and a lot of dark eyeshadow, getting up from her chair in the corner and motioning to the dragon. "Come on over here, hon, Shandra'll fix you right up." She swung the chair around and winked heavy lashes at him. Without hesitation, Ryu nodded and crossed the room to her.

"Damnit Shandra, just because you're the _manager_ you think you can pick and choose...," the woren mumbled under her breath by Nina, staring after him. "I guess you're mine, eh? Don't worry, your boyfriend has a nice sounding accent, whatever it is, but I'm sure she'll keep to herself." Before Nina could set her straight about what Ryu wasn't and would _never_ be, the woren grabbed her hand. "Let's try to get you fixed up too, 'kay hon?"

She set Nina's backpack on the floor and sat her down in one of the establishment's plush pink chairs, and the Wyndian came face to face with the mutilation everyone in the salon already had the misfortune of witnessing.

Her face and clothes were filthy -she had wrestled a bit with Ryu on the ground when she was trying to light him on fire, but she didn't think _that _roughly- and her hair was in an atrocious state, as if she had stuck her head into one of the fans near the doorway and let its blades have their way with it. Parts of it were singed, jagged ends stuck out every which way, one side was still drastically longer than the other...

She was covered by a bright pink smock with little white kittens on it. The woren swung her chair away from the mirror and laid her head against a dipped part in a sink near it. A bottle popped open and the smell of strawberries filled the air.

Nina's eyes immediately watered. It smelled exactly the same as what Chasta always chose.

"What did those bandits do, eh? Rub your head into a sand dune then set it on fire?" Cool gel hit the Wyndian's crown, fingers expertly kneaded it in. Her stomach twisted. Stray tears slid down. Warm water splashed against the nape of her neck.

Then suddenly the fingers slipped and the woren squealed, "Gods, a bug! A _bug _was in there!"

A _bug_?'!

Nina jerked her head up, catching the girl hard under her chin with her forehead. "Where?'! Get it off! I _hate _bugs, get it _off_!" The woren flung back and grabbed onto a shelf near her for balance. It broke, and dozens of bottles came crashing with her to the ground. Nina went to help her up, slinging water and soap all over.

* * *

Ryu's pale eyes swiveled lazily over. Nina was causing a ruckus, but he didn't feel at all like dealing with it; this woman's scalp massage was too relaxing...

If she would just quit _staring. _

Ever since she had pulled his hair back away from his face to wash it, her dark rimmed, grayish eyes had been fixated on him in an unnervingly intense manner. The bright lights above him were showing off his inhuman eyes he gathered. Rather than risk her stopping the massage, he decided to ignore it and closed them.

* * *

Cheeks pulsing and forehead throbbing, Nina sat back in her chair, trying not to notice he way the woren girl was scowling at her through the mirror. The girl rubbed her chin and picked a comb out of a drawer. Other girls rushed around with mops and rags to clean up the mess behind them. "I'm really, _really _sorry," apologized Nina for the tenth time timidly.

"No worries, only this might just be the most expensive hair cut you ever get. You're going to have to pay for the shelf too." She sprayed some liquid onto Nina's hair and jerked the comb through. "By the way, you guys _do _have money, right? Your knapsack there looks full of just bread."

Nina swallowed, enduring the tugging. They didn't, but surely Ryu would think of something. He was the one who brought them here after all. "Of _course_!" she laughed nervously, "Would we have the audacity to walk in here if we didn't?"

The woren didn't look convinced. "How lucky it was for you to get away from bandits with just enough money to get a haircut in the finest salon Ludia has to offer, yeah?"

Nina wiped sweaty palms on her pants underneath the smock. "W-well you know, my...erm...friend there, he's pretty strong. They didn't get everything."

"Hmm...really now?"

"Yeah...really..."

The comb caught a tangle, and Merybel's pendant fell out from underneath Nina's cloak as her head was jerked back. She tried to stuff it back in before the girl saw, but it was too late. The woren sighed, "Well, now, _that's _why bandits attacked you!" she said, putting her hand on her hip, annoyance melting from her face. "You guys are new 'round here ain'tcha?"

Nina figured the best choice would be to nod.

"Silly girl! This is Chamba! _Cham-ba!_" she tapped the comb on the top of Nina's head for every syllable. "Flash anything remotely shiny 'round these parts, and you'll be more popular than a virgin at Rose's, you dig? The only reason no one messes with this shop is because Prince Vahn himself funds it and keeps the Shydian big boys happy with us as well."

"Ah...yes..." Nina tried to ignore the bile seeping into her throat at the mention of Vahn's name. "I suppose I should be more careful."

"_Suppose?_ You're lucky you have that man, Chamba chews idiots like you up and spits out all the dirty, poor bits for the unmentionables to fight over." Nina bit the inside of her cheek. The woren laughed, "Aw, sweetie, I'm not trying to make fun, I'm only quoting the truth! Listen," she leaned down and put her face next to hers. The only worens Nina had ever seen before were whatever message boy Worent decided to send to the king of Wyndia, and she was never able to get that close. She realized now, staring at the girl's tawny, tiger striped fur and her large, emerald feline eyes, how exotic they actually looked. "I'll help you out, alright?"

What, did she see the pendant and think they had something else expensive hidden away to give her as payment? That had to be the only reason she was being nice now! Nina shifted her eyes to the side.

Ryu _better _have a plan.

* * *

Now it wasn't only her, it was the whole side of the room staring at him.

Ryu sat in his plush pink chair with his arms crossed underneath his cutesy smock, lap covered in scraggly navy locks, watching the girl still lifting and snipping, tensely.

It was too short. Air on the back of his neck felt strange. She was working on his bangs now, thinning and shortening them until soon there would be nothing left for him to hide behind-

Quicker than anyone's eye could catch, he snatched her wrist. She stared into his strange eyes. "I'm sorry," he said, his accent making some of the girls shift in their seats to hear him better. "But I'd like those to stay long."

* * *

"So what do they call you back home? I'm Tally."

Sweat beaded on Nina's brow. Back home? Where were they from? Name? Her name. What was her name? She didn't dare say Nina, what if someone put two and two together? The woren was looking at her funny now. She had to say something!

"V-Valentina."

"Oh," Tally said, nodding with her chin in her hand, "Like the Wyndian princess!"

The sweat fell. Geez, her ability to improv was _terrible._ "Haha, y-yeah...like her."

Oh no, she was narrowing her eyes in a scrutinizing manner. Could she possibly have found both the twos and was trying to put them together?'!

"You know, Val, If you had long hair I would swear you _were_ that princess... They've been showing her face all over town, I couldn't forget it even if I tried! Hey, you're sweating, are you hot? I can get a fan over here."

Nina's heart stopped "No, no I'm fine!" her voice was a squeak.

This was bad, really bad! Did she _know_?

"But of course you couldn't be her, she has wings!" Tally laughed. "Believe me, if you were...I'd turn you in, in a second! That reward would keep me a pretty happy girl for the rest of my life!"

Nina tried to laugh with her, but it sounded strained with her heart lurching back into motion.

"Anyhow, we should finish this up! Oh, but first, can I tell you about our special on hair dye enchants? Lasts for a little over a week, only five thousand zenny!"

* * *

Ryu stood from his chair, wiping navy hairs off of his shoulders. He handed his kitty smock to Shandra. Everyone's eyes were still on him. "Thank you," he said to the girl, nodding his head at her. She took the smock without blinking.

"Y-y-ou're welcome," she breathed.

He made a face, put back on his backpack, and turned to fetch Nina. He didn't care if her processes were done or not, he wanted to get away from these penetrating gazes as soon as possible. He found there was no need to worry, she was already done and walking over to him.

The Wyndian, well he guessed she was supposed to be human now, stood in front of him, amber eyes wide underneath bangs as red as her bastard guardian's were. The back of her hair was short, almost as short as his, and her sides were chin length. She looked a lot paler with this color, and thankfully, a lot different. He nodded approvingly, "I see you were intelligent enough to go with their enchantment," he remarked quietly in old Wyndian to her.

Nina knew she looked idiotic standing there staring at him with her mouth hanging open, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't bring herself to close it.

Ryu looked...well he looked different that was for sure.

Except for the shaggy bangs he couldn't seem to part with, his hair was now short...and jet black. His yellow eyes shifted back and forth. They were strikingly noticeable against this new color, maybe even beautiful. He leaned down closer. "They're still staring, aren't they?" he whispered. Nina looked behind him at all the eyes glued to his silhouette. Funny, she thought, looking at every girl swooning over him, he _did _look better with his haircut -you could actually see his face now-, but if they only knew how difficult he was... She nodded. He grabbed her hand. "We need to get out of here."

"Wait!" she hissed as he started to pull her towards the hanging beads. "We've got to _pay _them!"

"How? We have no money."

Her stomach dropped. She snatched her hand from his. "I thought you had something! Why would you take us here if you didn't have any money?'!"

"When did you see me acquire any cash, Fai'en? The faeries have no such things."

"This is _stealing_!"

"Ahem." Nina and Ryu turned their heads. Tally was standing behind the counter with her paw out, the one thin purple eyebrow they could see raised. Nina was relieved no one could understand their quarrel. "For both of you and the shelf, the total is sixty thousand zenny," she said, drumming her other set of claws on the counter top loudly.

"_Sixty thousand_?'! Did you _hear _that? Ryu, we're going to go to _jail_!" Nina hissed excitedly.

Ryu shook his head. "Not if they can't catch us!" He grabbed her hand again and dashed out of the salon, away from Tally and the other girls' frantic screams of '_Thieves! Thieves!_'

* * *

"H-hey! Watch it, ya want my boot up yer ass?'!"

"Stop pushing! I'll cut ya throat!"

Glowing signs and people's astonished/angered faces whizzed by as Ryu barreled his way through the streets carrying Nina by the waist in one arm, apparently deciding she wasn't fast enough to keep up on her own. She glanced up at him looking back over his shoulder repeatedly.

"Thar they are! Get em' boys!" voices yelled behind them. Heavy footsteps closed in, metal slid from sheaths.

"We have to stealt-!" Before Nina could finish throwing Ryu the idea, the world around them took on a hazy purple tone and the dragon dove back into an alleyway after shoving a man to the ground near them. He let go of Nina and she joined him in squishing herself against a dank stone wall. She held her breath -from both fear and the overwhelming stink of trash scattered about the ground- and listened for their pursuer's greaves to clomp by. Two pairs stopped at the entrance to the alleyway. Her bottom lip wriggled it's way between her teeth.

They were caught! There was no way they could fight off soldiers in public and be able to show face _anywhere_!

"Deys went dat way, I seen em' run down tru dere," One rumbled, swinging out a tremendous arm in the direction of the guy Ryu pushed. He wasn't wearing a helmet; colored city lights speckled the top of his shiny, bald head. "Dat alleyway. Dey's prob'ly hidin' in da trash."

His partner, another heavily armed beefy man, closed the grate on his helmet and raised his sword into the air. "No one steals from Luci's an' gets away wit it!" He roared, taking off down the alley across from them. The other took off after him shouting agreement.

"That was close..." Nina breathed, relaxing off the wall when the coast was clear. Ryu walked past her and crouched behind a pile of trash near the entrance to the street. She scowled at the back of his dark head. "This is _your _fault! You were _so_ worried about showing our faces before, and now after we took the trouble to change how we look, you get us wanted _again_?" He ignored her, his attention on the crowd milling by. "All those girls were staring at you... That girl cutting my hair told me they were showing Princess Nina's face all over town!" Just as she said it, she noticed a half torn poster sporting a portrait of her on the wall across from her. The word "Demon" was still visible on the bottom of it along with an impossible amount of zeros. Anxiety poured over her in waves. "We have to leave. We have to sleep on the damn ground again, Gods, I _do not _want to sleep on the ground anymore Ryu! -H-hey wait...what...? _What the hell do you think you 're doing now?'!_"

While she was talking, Ryu had swiped a guy off the street and pulled him into the shadows with them. He threw his squirming body hard against the other wall with his hand on his mouth. Nina looked to the street. Somehow, no one seemed to notice. The man's terrified eyes widened over Ryu's knuckles, and the dragon's forehead _cracked _against his. He loosened his grip, and the man slid unconscious to the ground.

Nina blinked at Ryu kneeling down and rummaging through the pockets of his victim's shirt. He found a wallet and thumbed through it. "Would you _stop_?'!" she squeaked, watching in horror his hands go to the man's pants. He was stealing his clothes!

"Don't fret, I'll get you some after this," he pulled off the guy's boots and tugged his pants from his hips. White boxers with red hearts on them came into view.

"That's not the point! This is going too far!" Ryu's hands went to his own pants. Nina flushed and turned around quickly. No shame whatsoever. "B-besides, I-I don't want to wear someone else's clothes!"

"Too bad, because you're going to." There was some rustling and she heard him say, "You can turn back." She did. He now had on his victim's short sleeved black hooded shirt and was tucking his dark gray leather patched, large pocketed pants into heavy black boots. He swiped a black bandanna off the unconscious guy's head and tied it around his own.

"Don't you tell me what I'm going to do! You're not the boss of me!" Nina angrily stamped her foot. A rat and a few roaches skittered out from underneath the rubble of a rotted wooden box. She squealed and drew her arms and legs in close. He _hushed _her and turned back to the crowd. "Don't you _hush _me either!" She said, glancing apprehensively around for more critters. "W-we're going to end up in jail...and because it's Ludia, that bastard prince going to find me and then it's _all _over-" There was a rustling noise in Ryu's direction. She looked up and sighed wearily. "I _re~ally _hate you, you know?"

He was standing before her with a girl about her size struggling in his arms. "This will do," he said simply. Nina shamefully took her eyes away from her kicking out her high heeled feet and scrabbling to get hold of Ryu's tanned arm pressing tightly against her neck.

"It doesn't matter what I say, you do as you please anyhow," she muttered, watching the girl's frantic shadow on the ground suddenly slack. Slender black leather covered legs slid into view.

"I'll keep watch," said Ryu, turning away. "Hurry up and change."

* * *

A few awkward moments later, Nina was struggling on sky high heels to keep up with Ryu's pace back on the streets, feeling unbelievably guilty for being even remotely pleased with the glimpses of herself she caught in the store windows they passed by.

The clothes were nice; almost as nice as the ones she used to wear in Wyndia. She tightened a long white silk sash around her waist holding together a blue and white silk wrap dress. Underneath it were fitted leather pants that, along with her heels, made her look ten feet tall. She reached into the top of the dress into an inside pocket, where she had discovered earlier the previous owner had a left small tube of lipstick. She took it out and uncapped it. It was unused, which made it easier to think of applying it to further help change her appearance, even if it _was_ stolen goods.

The street became more congested, and it forced Ryu to slow down. He irritably walked in place when it thickened enough to make them stop. Nina took the opportunity and raised the lipstick to her lips, turning to look into a window beside her, when one her heels suddenly slipped on a pebble into the other, and she tripped. She grabbed onto Ryu's arm. It was so tense his muscles felt like stone under his flesh. "Stop being clumsy," he growled, helping her straighten back up. "You're a princess, don't you know how to walk?" He looked at her face and scowled. "Lip paint is all over your chin. Fix it."

She pushed away from him and turned back to the window of what was a small pub beside them. A table ringed with grimy, battle-worn men looking like more than their teeth had been knocked out of their heads pointed and guffawed at her, slinging their beers around. She hurriedly wiped the bit off her chin and reapplied. One of the men blew her a kiss as she pursed her lips. "Princesses wear heels, but not _call girl _heels!" She snapped, ignoring the men's vulgar gestures, and putting the lipstick back in her pocket as she turned to Ryu. "I'd like to see _you _prance around in them!"

His jaw hardened. "Well, start learning, people are staring!"

"Oh really?" Nina glanced around. There _were_ a few people sharing whispers about her, but she didn't think as many were paying as much attention to her as they were _him. _A good percentage of the females on the street was going out of their way to get an eyeful of him -full groups of them were giggling and pointing like adolescent girls- and she realized, with a smile, it was making him extremely uneasy.

_It is expected for someone who's lived the majority of their life as a shadow, to be unnerved by this much attention, _his soul whispered in the back of her mind.

Too bad, she thought back, There was no way she was missing such a rare chance.

"They sure are," She teased, nudging him playfully with her elbow, "at _you_."

"No one is looking at me," he mumbled stubbornly, but she knew he could hear the whispers clearer than she.

Her grin spread sadistically, "Oh I think they _are_, and it doesn't look like they can get enough! Shall we ask them to draw a picture so it will last longer?"

"Seal your lips_,_" his were paper thin.

"Oh my, even the older ones!" she laughed, "I never knew you were so popular with the la-"

He snapped his teeth at her like an angry dog, eyes blazing. "I said _shut up_!"

The crowd moved up, and they saw what was causing all the traffic. A building with a glowing pink sign flashing "Rose's Girls! Girls! Girls!" had an unorganized line swelling around it. The two went to try and maneuver around it, but were stopped by two girls running out of the brothel to them.

"Did you get tired of waiting in line? If you want, we can get you in faster! We don't mind, it's _our _treat!" one had long, wavy blonde hair and voluptuous features. She grabbed onto Ryu's arm and ran a hand with scarlet painted nails over it. Strong perfume stung Nina's nose and eyes.

The other, a Shydian dark pigtailed, blue-eyed beauty giggled. "Yes, _please _let us take care of you. Half price?" Nina started to say something, and the girl nudged her away from him roughly, giggling loudly to try and cover it up.

"H-hey!" she cried, "You can't-_oooof_" An elbow flew into her stomach and nearly knocked the wind out of her. She started to fall and grabbed onto the dark haired one's shoulder. The girl turned and narrowed fake lashed eyes, moving her arm forward to elbow her again.

Ryu caught it before she had a chance. "Don't you touch her," he said in his exotic brogue, "She's with me." He shook the blonde off his arm and waved pigtails away.

"W-well," they both glared at Nina. Pigtails sighed. "She can join too if you want...but it'll cost ya.."

"What I _want_, is to know where I can get a drink, something hot to eat, and a bed for the night-one without a complimentary painted _whore_, preferably."

The women didn't look pleased, "We're 'ladies of the night'," they corrected, but they must have thought enough of him to help regardless. "But if you're going to be like _that_, go down a few blocks," the blonde said, pointing in the direction they were already heading. "Rocko's Water Hole'll be on the corner. He let's people use the beds upstairs for a fair price. Food ain't bad either, but listen up," she got in close and winked at him, his nose crinkled from her perfume. "Kids have a lot of energy, but no technique. If you get bored, come on back and I'll give you something _worth_ warming the other side of your bed."

Nina could almost feel steam literally coming out of her ears. "W-we're not-"

"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind," he said, draping his arm around Nina's shoulders and guiding her away from a staring crowd.

The men were whispering, _"He refused Aly!" "What is he, an idiot!" "Somethin' wrong with him, has ta __be!"_

The women wondered where he was from, said his accent was alluring, said they couldn't believe there was a man in this world who would turn down one of Rose's most attractive women...said haughtily they didn't think Nina was a good enough reason. Nina refrained from glaring at them all.

A block down, Ryu silently put distance between them

She sneaked a peek at him. He was walking with his shoulders hunched and his head down, like he was trying to make his bangs cover his face. Another few steps and he pulled his hood onto his head. It was too small to make a cowl, and it seemed to irritate him. _"Ankra..." _he muttered.

He really _was _bothered by this. Girls were still looking and whispering.

But he handled that woman so coolly, like he dealt with offers of seedy women daily...

What was it about him that was making everyone talk so much? She could hear their whispers, but still couldn't grasp it. His body? Yeah, okay. His face, his...hair? They _did _just get their hair done so of course people would comment it was nice but -she looked around- she could see plenty of guys with built bodies, maybe not so much with nice hair. Amber returned to Ryu. Then again, he didn't have any scars on his face, or bandages covering up obvious mutilation, or wore hyena grins like most of these other able bodied fellows were. He looked strong -most likely because he was- but he didn't look like he would rob and kill you the moment you stepped with him out of good lighting.

He probably had the prettiest, hardest face these people had ever seen.

_He despises that pretty face, _his soul whispered. _I'm sure right now he is regretting a past decision not to mutilate it._

"What? Why would he mutilate it?" she gasped aloud. The dragon's eyes snapped to her. She turned red. "I-I mean...I mean..." she glanced hurriedly around, trying to think of something, _anything _to say, when she saw the front doors of Rocko's. "L-look! There's the pub! Let's go in! I'm soo~ tired and hungry!" she said in one quick breath, stretching her arms high above her head. Her stomach growled loudly like it was in on it. Ryu's brow furrowed.

Thankfully deciding it was probably too much trouble to pursue the issue further, he walked with her up to the pub's large wooden doors. There was a cartoon-ish painted picture of a muscular bald man with a lot of facial piercings in a tight white shirt on there holding up a mug. "Rocko's Water Hole" was coming out of his mouth. Ryu laid his hand on the door. Fast piano music, clinking glasses, and boisterous laughter seeped from the cracks. There were no windows cut into the building for them to see inside. "Stay near," the dragon commanded, and he slowly pushed it open.

* * *

Lissa was hard pressed to remember the last time she had had such an uninhibited view of a clear, starry night sky. Castle Ludia's grounds were chock full of trees – being it was located in the middle of a forest- and it was near impossible to look up and not see branches. She leaned back on her "pillow" -a corner of the quilt covering the bottom of the wooden cart she was traveling on that she had bunched up – and nibbled on a piece of salty, dried venison, gazing above at beautiful twinkling dots of light. Every now and again thin wisps of smoke would drift by, signaling Chasta was enjoying yet another cigarette.

Chamba was their destination. Lissa had suggested it after remembering Stella mentioning angrily that Vahn probably hadn't contacted them because he said he wanted to stop off there for a little "fun" before business. Traveling across Ludia by horse and cart took normally five to six days, depending on how often you stopped, and they were nearing the end of their second day, with only one three hour break for sleep the night before.

So far, Chasta hadn't been as personable as she had let on she was going to be -she was mostly just smoking and staring out into the distance- and the rare times she did decide to converse, it was to order Lissa to transform into different sorts of people for her. Sometimes a man, sometimes a woman, sometimes a small child. Each time, the Ludian girl achieved it with no problem at all, and the Wyndian would curtly nod her approval, but all the while, Lissa had an inkling that if she suddenly wasn't able to perform, her journey would be cut drastically short.

"You gals wanna stop for the night?" After they had left the castle, Chasta had found a young Ludian soldier named Bryan that, after an hour or so of "hanging out" with her, had graciously offered to take them across the country. He turned back, and the night breezes combed back shaggy brown bangs from his deep set, dark eyes. "I see village lights not too far from here. We should stop and ask them for a bed for the night. I'm sure you don't want to sleep on this dingy old cart again."

Chasta put out her cigarette on the wooden railing she was leaning on and shook her head. "I want to get to Shyde's border as soon as possib-"

Suddenly the horse Bryan was riding on bucked, the cart lurched. Lissa and Chasta grabbed onto the railing. "Whoa, whoa!" the boy yanked its reins trying to calm it. "Whoa buddy, what's wrong?" The horse took another step, and its front legs crumpled beneath it.

Chasta leaped out of the cart. "What's the problem? What's wrong, Bryan?"

Bryan's hand shot up to stop the Wyndian, and he pulled out his sword. Lissa leaned over to look. He made a quick swipe at the ground, and chopped off the head of a snake slithering in the dirt. "Damn, I'll bet he was bit." he said, sheathing his blade and kneeling down by the now whimpering horse. "You okay buddy?" he asked soothingly, rubbing his hand over the animal's mane.

"Make it get up," Chasta snapped, crossing her arms. "We don't have time for this."

Bryan looked up at her incredulously. "I can't just 'make him get up', I don't know what sort of snake it was!"

"Then find us another horse! You said you'd get us to Chamba in record time!"

"I'm not going to leave ol' Donovan like this, he's been with me since I was a squire!"

Chasta pulled her pack of smokes from their home inside her bra and tapped the bottom. One cig popped up. She closed her lips around it and pulled it out. "I don't give a damn about one stupid horse, all I care about is what you _promised._"

"I didn't _promise _nothin', I said I'd do what I could to get you where you needed to go," said Bryan, shooting her a glare.

The Wyndian was getting a dangerous look in her eye when she snapped her fingers and lit the cig with a flame from the tip of her pointer. Lissa piped up, "H-hey you said there was a village near, right? How about we go there and see if someone can take a look at the horse, huh?"

Bryan rubbed the Donovan the horse's neck, worry creasing his young features. "If you want, you can go, but I'm not leaving him, he's starting to pant pretty hard..."

"_Useless_," Chasta spat on the ground. "Come on, Lissa, gather your stuff. This fool is a waste of time. We'll buy our _own_ horses from that village."

Lissa grabbed her backpack and shoved the rest of the venison in her mouth. Bryan cast them a desperate look. "Y-you're going to tell them I'm out here, right? I don't want Donovan to die!"

"Whatever," Chasta said, folding the quilt on the cart and stuffing it into her own bag. She motioned to Lissa and they started down the dirt road on foot towards lights flickering in the distance.

"Please send help!" the soldier's strained voice called behind them.

Lissa shivered at Chasta's icy forward stare.

* * *

Nina held on tight to Ryu's arm, wiping a hand against her watering eyes as he led her through a sea of whooping, hollering people. She could barely breathe in the thick, cigarette and cigar smoke filled atmosphere and everything was so loud, she was positive her eardrums were going to burst any second. People of all races raised mugs into the air around her, slopping ale carelessly onto other patrons and a peanut shell filled floor as they shouted cheers and jeers at two men having a piano duel on a homely looking stage in the middle of the one roomed building.

One -a man with a pirate hat on his head and a goofy smile on his face- played something fast and quirky, and the crowd cheered and clinked mugs after the last note, then the other -tall, lanky man with pastey white skin, a mop of sandy brown hair, and an eye patch- played something quirkier and more intricate, and the crowd got even more rowdy and some threw those mugs and more peanut shells at the stage.

Miraculously, Ryu got them to the bar without getting hit by someone's flying mug or a drop of beer, and then managed somehow to get two well built, monstrously sized woren men to give them some room. She didn't know what was said to them with all the racket going on, but one even offered her his stool to sit at. She accepted, and he backed off into the crowd, eying Ryu's back fretfully. She looked over, the other woren was offering up his seat and bowing his head to the dragon. "Did you threaten them or something?" she asked when he sat down. He shrugged. She sighed.

The smell of meat seized her dragon nose and stomach. At the other end of the bar, slabs of it sizzled on a grill. She could barely stop the drool from dripping out of her mouth. Ryu must've felt her hunger, because not a second later, he smacked his palm against the bar and waved at the bartender. "Three of those slabs!," he called, holding three fingers up to the large, muscular bald man walking to them. Nina noticed piercings all over his face when he got near, and she realized it was Rocko himself behind the bar.

He smiled widely, a fat cigar dangling from his lips, "Ya sho' that gal can put one o'dese down?" His voice was loud enough to hear through the noise.

"She's got a stomach like a dragon!" Ryu laughed.

Rocko shrugged, "If'n ya say so, bro." He turned his massive head towards a group yelling for him on the other end of the bar. "Yah, I know, I got ya, keep yer panties on!" His meaty hand closed around the handle of a large metal pitcher and he filled it to the brim with beer from a barrel larger than him against the wall, then sent it sliding down the bar. A young woren girl caught and drained it. He filled two more and handed them to Ryu and Nina after Ryu asked. "Don' let 'er drink too much. Inno'cent lookin' gals like that disappear in Chamba if'n you ain't careful," Rocko said, with a knowing nod at Nina.

Froth dripped down the sides of the container in front of the Wyndian. 'Don't let her drink too much'? Why hand her an entire pitcher sized mug if he was going to say that? Or maybe drinking a whole pitcher was a normal thing around here, and anything more was 'too much'? She picked it up with both hands and put it to her lips. Frothy, bitter liquid poured into her mouth. She swallowed hard and shivered. She was used to the most expensive wines; and had never touched her lips to anything like a beer from a run down, dirty pub. The difference was apparent. Both Ryu and Rocko were amused by her reaction. She realized she had froth on her upper lip and wiped it away with her forearm. "Be right back wit y'alls grub, aight?" The big man said, grabbing two plates from underneath the counter and going to the grill. Like a starving animal eying a fresh kill, Nina's gaze was glued to the plates in Rocko's hands, and she watched with her tongue running across her lips, the slabs nearly cover the entire thing. He got back, set the plates in front of them, and went to get silverware. She could barely restrain herself from picking it up with her hands; the herbs and spices on it smelled like heaven. Silverware flashed in front of her, and soon the meat was mercifully in her mouth.

Behind them, an energetic violin joined the piano battle. The crowd was stomping a beat, drunkards were making up nonsense words to the non existent songs being played, girls were dancing on tables and at on the ends of the bar. A Shydian man beside Nina watched in awe the girl putting away her steak like a man three times her size. Rocko joined him in spectating. Ryu wasn't a boy by any means, but he was getting rid of two in almost the same amount of time. "Hungry wern'cha?" Rocko laughed, taking their plates (after they both had literally licked them clean). "Inneresting." He tossed them into a sink and turned back, leaning onto the counter in front of them. Nina took another swig out of her mug to wash down the meat. It didn't taste as horrible on a full stomach. "Where ya from? I ain't neva heard yer accent befo'" he asked Ryu.

"Far away," said the dragon, fishing through his pockets and pulling out a wad of cash. "Will this pay for a room?" he asked, setting it down on the counter.

Rocko frowned. "Ain't even got enuff 'ere ta' pay for da steak, bro."

Nina nearly spit out her beer. Not enough money? Her mind raced and jump started her heart with it. Her eyes darted back and forth. It would be too hard for them to get away with a crowd like this blocking the way outside, and Goddess forbid any of them decided to be vigilantes and tried to stop them... She swallowed hard. Rocko didn't look like one to play around.

"How ya gon' pay?" His friendly demeanor was quickly diminishing. "I don' take no services from no gal's ee'dah. Well..." he looked a mortified Nina over thoughtfully, then shook his head. "Nah, too young. I'd feel odd, ya know?"

_He'd _feel odd?'!

"She's nineteen, almost twenty. It's not too young," Ryu said, then laughed when Nina looked like she was about to faint. "Nah, she's not for sale, but I'm sure we can work something out, yeah?"

Thick fingers like links of bratwurst clutched a stubbly, meaty chin. Rocko's face scrunched with the effort of a hard thought. "Well...dere _is _one way..." his dark black brows lined with silver studs knitted together, "But I don' think yer strong enuff ta do it."

Ryu leaned forward, smiling confidently, "I'd be interested in proving you wrong on that."

Rocko filled a mug and tossed it to a wolfman behind them, catching the zenny he threw back out of the air without looking. "Ya think ya can take on da Gray Woren, huh? 'Dere's a pretty penny innit dat's fer sho'"

"Who's that?" Nina asked. The beer was starting to make her lightheaded. She realized she had gulped down the entire mug.

Rocko's stone face broke into a smile, "Ain't nobody 'round here don' know 'bout da Gray Woren. Ya'll must really be from 'far away'." Nina and Ryu followed him pointing over to a corner of the pub. A large circle of men and a few women were formed around a table. They were all eerily still, concentrating fully on whatever was happening there. Nina wished they would move so she could see. Then, there was a _bang _like a fist hitting a table hard, and the circle erupted into cheers.

"Da guy in da black coat," Rocko said when a part of the circle opened up to let through a giant, disgruntled human man. Another two men rushed to him and tried to hand him their beers. He shouted obscenities at them and shoved them both into other patrons. Nina was afraid a fight was going to break out, but all parties seemed to unnaturally forgive everything immediately.

Because the guy in the black coat willed it to be so.

He merely lifted an iron gauntlet, and the tension disappeared.

From their distance, it was hard to tell he was a woren -his head was completely covered by the hood of his dark coat- the long, gray and black tiger striped tail flicking behind him was the only indication. Heavy, dark iron armor covered his left shoulder and arm, as well as both of his legs.

"Dey's call 'im Gray, on account a' he's da only one o'dem worens from da north we's eva seen," Rocko said, puffing on his cigar. "He came ta Chamba few years ago lookin' ta make some cash. Says he gon' buy a ship ta be a pirate." Smokey vanilla clouds floated into Nina's face. She coughed and waved them away. He looked amused by it. "I don' know why annyone'd wanna be a pirate now-a-days."

Gray put his right elbow on the table and stretched the fingers of a naked furry gray hand, and the circle around him closed.

"What's he doing?" Nina asked, reaching into a bucket full of roasted peanuts sitting near her on the bar top.

"Coupla nights a week 'e comes in here challengin' annyone an' evryone to arm wrestlin'. Two thousan' zenny ta challenge 'im. Pot resets evryday. Winna gets da days bit. Ting is," Rocko puffed again, "Ain't nobody eva come close ta beatin' 'im."

The circle went quiet again. Ryu drained the rest of his mug. "Nobody, huh?"

"They're eating out of his hand," Nina said, cracking a nut, and doing so out of hers.

"Bro's a good attraction. Brings in good bizness, an keeps da thugs busy. I don' kno' how ee'dah, deys respect 'im a lot I sup'ose." Rocko ashed his cigar onto the floor. "'e's been here a coupla hours now," he said, dark eyes glittering at Ryu, "Dat pot's got enuff in it now ta pay for yer grub an' a room no prob. Ya think ya got wat it takes, bro?"

"I know I have what it takes." Rocko smiled, drinking up Ryu's confidence. The dragon further piqued his curiosity by putting another beer on his tab.

Nina fidgeted in her seat. What if he _couldn't _beat him? What would they do then? He was being cocky because he was a dragon...but what about gray worens? What _was _a gray woren anyway? She had never heard of such a thing.

_Slam! _Went another hand hitting against the table and the circle cheered again, letting yet another disappointed patron -an armadillo type grassrunner four times Gray's size- through.

"Are you sure about this, Ryu?" she whispered, leaning in close. She saw one corner of his mouth lift into his signature smirk.

"Come on," he said, taking a swig and getting up. "Let's go get this hospitable man his money."

* * *

Chasta and Lissa reached the shabby, falling apart wooden entrance of the "village", and Chasta stood with her hands on her hips, puffing on a fresh smoke angrily, shadows from a torch nearby dancing on her face. "What a dump!" she scoffed, looking over the ten or so small wooden shantys making up the poverty stricken place. "I don't even _see _a stable anywhere! I bet these hicks don't even know what a damn horse _looks _like!"

Lissa followed her to the first building with its lights on, or rather _candles _on -she noticed them flickering feebly in the windows as they got closer. Chasta banged her fist on the door until a stooped over, withering old lady with a dirty red checkered scarf tied around her head answered. She held up a lantern, squinting small, cloudy blue eyes at the Wyndian. "Wassa Wyn'din doin' in dees parts?" She asked suspiciously.

Chasta took a deep breath, but before she could say what was probably an insult sitting on the tip of her tongue, Lissa cut in. "Hello, we're really sorry to bother you, but a little ways back our horse was bit by a snake on the road and is unable to continue traveling. Is there anyone here that could take a look at him, or could sell us a new one?"

The woman's face softened when she saw the absence of wings on Lissa's back. "I'm always up ta helpin' one o' my own kind," she said flicking her eyes at Chasta again, who scowled back. "But we ain't got no horses here. Got a few donkeys...but we's need 'em all."

"Then is there someone who could look after our horse?" Lissa tried. Chasta was starting to tap her foot on the ground.

"Who's at da door, Penny?" An old man's voice called from inside the shack.

"Some city youngin's from da looks offit. Deys horse got bitten by one o' dem grass snakes prob'ly! Deys need someone ta look after it!" she hollered back.

"Johnny!" the man's voice yelled. "Come on in 'ere and help dees girls! You know about dem animals, right?"

A boy barely in his teens with a shock of orange hair and a face full of freckles peeked at Lissa from behind the old woman. "Johnny here's da animal care-er around dees parts. He reads all dem books you know." Johnny smiled sheepishly at them. There was a gap between his two front teeth "He don't work for free tho."

Lissa took some cash from her pocket. "I'm willing to pay-"

The woman and the boy were both staring at her black polished hand, eyes impossibly wide. "You mean ta tell me, he fixes up yo' animal, and he gets ev'ry bit o' _dat_?'!"

It wasn't a lot of money, well not in Lissa's point of view, but she figured to people in this much poverty, it was like she was holding a handful of gold. "Sure...If he can help us, I'll be glad to give him all of it."

"Get yo' coat, boy! You fix dat horse up, and you fix it good, ya hear?" the old woman snapped to Johnny.

The boy nodded quickly, barely muttering a "Yes'm" before disappearing back into the shack. Seconds later, he had a tattered brown cloak wrapped around his shoulders and a large, leather sack on his back. "Take 'im." She pushed him out the door and closed it behind him. "An' don't you dare come back without no money, boy!" came her voice through the cracks.

Johnny stood in front of the girls, big blue curious eyes still wide. Chasta pulled out a new cigarette. "So you're a vet, eh, kid?"

He nodded. "Old man George's donkey got bit by a snake one time. I fixed him up good, I did!" he said proudly.

"Well let's hope you're as good as you say," she snapped and lit the cigarette. He stared at her flame covered fingertip. "What, never seen magic before?"

"No Ma'am," he said, shaking his head, eyes flickering to her baby blue wings. "Or wings, Ma'am."

"You can quit with the 'Ma'am'," she said irritably. "I'm not as old as that bat in there, alright?"

"Yes m'-I mean..."

"Just a simple _yes _will do."

"Yes."

She turned and the boy and Lissa followed her back out onto the road.

* * *

"You came back! I knew you weren't heartless!" A tearful Bryan sobbed when he saw the party crest a hill before him.

"Stop crying, geez," Chasta snapped. "You look like a fool!"

Bryan wiped his sleeve across his face. "I-I'm sorry it's just...I love Donovan..."

"_Gods, _of _course _I would pick some blundering, crybaby idiot..." she muttered. She pushed Johnny forward. "Here, this boy's that village's vet. He's going to make your stupid horse better."

"'Ello, mister," said Johnny, leaning down by the horse. "Where'd he get bit?"

Bryan sniffed. "On his right front leg. I killed the bastard that did it."

Johnny looked over to the headless snake lying in the dirt near them Bryan was pointing at, holding his lantern up to see. He smiled, "Mister, you's really lucky. Dat's just a baby Ludian grass viper!"

The soldier brightened. "Really? It's not that serious? But he's out cold now!"

"Deys poisonous fer sure...but not like a grown up one. From da looks offit, he got stepped on an' bit in self defense. If'n it woulda been it's mama, yer horse woulda been done fer. Babies just bite and da bigger animals take a nap fer a bit."

Bryan let out a ragged sigh of relief. "Thank the gods!"

Johnny swung his backpack off of his shoulders onto the ground and rummaged through it until he found another smaller sack with some leaves in it and a bottle of a yellowish oil. He pulled a mortar and pestle out after, and started milling a handful of the leaves while dropping in the oil slowly. When it became a lumpy paste, he spread it on Donovan's wound. "Dis'll clear it outta his blood but he's gonna have ta rest for a few days."

"A few _days_?'!" Chasta cried. "I thought you said it was a baby and it wasn't serious!"

"It's not serious M'a...-M-miss...but he's gotta rest if'n yer gonna travel. His muscles'll be mighty sore."

Chasta spat on the ground. "This is great, just _great!_ And what do you propose we do while the stupid beast takes a vacation, huh?"

"Can't we stay in the village for those days?" Lissa asked.

"What if we lose track of the prince? He could be long gone from Chamba by the time we get there!"

Lissa shook her head. "If I know Vahn, he'll probably stay in Chamba for as long as he can...Stella told me he probably owns half the brothels there with all the money he throws at them. She said he knows almost every whore in the city by name..."

Chasta whirled on her, green eyes narrowed almost to slits. "You _better _be right," she growled. Lissa shrank back.

"Gramma'll prob'ly let yas stay with us fer da money yer givin' me," Johnny said, wrapping a bandage around Donovan's leg. "We's got a lil' shed in back of da house dat ain't too bad. We's got rid of most o' da rats anyhow, an' da leak in da ceilin' ain't nothin' but a drip now..."

Bryan cried out as Chasta kicked him in the side. "Did you hear that? A _shed_. I'm going to be staying in a godsdamn _shed _you _idiot_!"

"It's not my fault he got bit, woman! _Stop kicking me_!"

Lissa sighed, while Johnny's still curious stare took in everything with interest.

It was going to be a long few days.

* * *

**A/N:** Don't hate me, please! I know this took FOREVER, and I didn't want to stop here at all...but I wanted to get something out so you know I haven't given up! I got a promotion at work (yay!) so I was training for a few weeks waking up super early...that along w/ trying to keep up leveling w/ my bf in Aion...

Anyways, I can't wait for the next chapter...there will be action and a good bit of it! Thanks for hanging on with me and thanks for all the favs! It makes me happy to check my email and see that someone has favorited my baby =P


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

_That Ain't Good, Ya Got tha Most Deadliest 'Sins Out ta Get Ya and Ya Don't Even Know Whatcha Up Against?_

Gray, was simply all he was called.

He was unstoppable. No matter the man, no matter the race, no matter the size, the woren always destroyed their confidence in seconds with almost no effort at all.

Until he met a dragon.

After watching twenty or so men with bulging muscles and equal sized egos lose horribly, Ryu took a seat and finally got an unobstructed view of the champion.

He was rather impressive up close; supporting armor that thick for hours on end in a stuffy overcrowded bar should have been wearing on him -even if it wasn't on the arm he was wrestling with- but he showed no sign of it, his shoulders were level. His coat was made of heavy, embossed onyx leather, turning into cloth lined with chain mail on the cowl. In its darkness, one sharp feline eye glowed. He set his arm on the table and stretched his fingers like he did before every match. Ryu heard the joints in his knuckles pop.

Cheers sounded when Ryu smirked and placed his elbow alongside Gray's. Beside him, Nina was biting her nails; two thousand zenny was all of their money.

Gray grasped his hand. The woren's fur was coarse, his grip iron strong. "Ready, bro?" Ryu heard a deep rasp from the cowl. The dragon tensed and nodded. "On go. Three, two, one, go!" People surrounding them whooped,

And their arms stayed perfectly still.

A minute passed. Nothing.

Everyone watching was in suspended animation, whispering without moving to one another as yet another minute passed uneventful. A man in the back couldn't stand it anymore. "'AYE GIT ON WIT IT WILL YA?'!" To his and everyone else's satisfaction, both men's arms began to tremble ever so slightly. Nina bit a nail down to the quick. Ryu's eyes flit in her direction and he slid his other bleeding hand underneath the table.

He continued to wear a smirk for the woren, but inside his mood was darkening fast. He was actually giving _effort. _ Any normal woren would have gone down easily, but this one...

**I'll make his hand go through the table if you want, half-breed.**

Out of the question, his mind fiercely shot back.

**You sure? It could be this easy.**

Power surged through his muscles and Gray's hand jerked back a good bit.

The crowd gasped. Some booed. Mugs and fists slammed on tables. "Whatchoo doin' Gray? You gonna let dis lil' pretty boy ruin yer rep?'!" they cried. "Yea we had mo' respect fo' you dan dis, bro!" "Kill 'em, Gray! Show 'em who's da champion!"

Gray clenched his teeth and, slowly, his shaking arm almost returned to its starting position. Nina fidgeted. Ryu resisted the urge to sneer.

Who _was _this guy, to have power on par with even a fraction of the Kaiser's?

More jeers and hollers came from their audience. The women were cheering for Ryu now. Peanuts and beer rained down.

Anxiety became apparent in the cat's one intense eye. Ryu tightened his grip,

And then the woren pulled him forward until his face was inches from his own. "Bro," he said underneath the noise of the crowd and the instruments still performing lively behind them. "I got a propasition for ya."

The dragon's eyebrows raised, but he kept his hold strong. "Afraid to lose?"

Gray paused, "I got a good thang goin' here, bro, and yea, I ain't 'bout losin' it now."

"Then what? I got a tab to pay and a room to buy for the night and my pockets are empty."

"I get it, I'll make sure it's paid, an' ya get a lot more, ya dig?"

"And just how're you going to do that?"

"What you doin', Gray? You tryin' to make out wit 'im?'!" A man yelled. The crowd burst into laughter.

"Jus' play along, please." Desperation replaced the cat's fear. "One bro to another, yeah?"

Ryu cocked his head thoughtfully. More money was always a good thing. He and Nina had to eat after all, and meat with spices on it was much better tasting than the charred messes he usually ended up with out in the woods.

He nodded sharply, and Nina gasped at his side, having heard the whole thing. "What if he cheats you, Ryu?'!" she hissed.

There were other ways to get the money if he got cheated.

Gray let go and stood suddenly. He moved to the other side of the table and threw an arm around Ryu's shoulders. "Man, bro ya've really changed!" he cried, "I hardly recognized ya! Hey guys! This my bro!" He hugged Ryu close. "Yo' girlie called ya, 'Ryu', right?" he whispered to him. The dragon nodded. "Ryu! Ol' buddy, ol' pal! Wow, what a surprise, eh? Whatchoo used to be, like a hunnard pounds bigga, bro?'!" He playfully hit his hand against Ryu's fit stomach.

Nina looked up with alarm, like she was afraid Ryu was going to snap into attack mode, but the dragon managed to force a calm smile.

A fleshy shirtless man in tattered pants gulped down some ale and burped loudly. "You _know _dis bro, Gray?"

"You didn't tell us you had such _cute _friends," a woren woman wearing a leather bikini top purred, leaning in to get a better look at Ryu's face, her tail curling behind her. "Where'd you meet, 'im, huh?"

Gray raised a gauntlet to the air. "Break time, fellas! Grab a round from Rocko, it's on me! I feel like catchin' up wit' 'im, 'aight?"

Choruses of "Awwww man!"'s and "Screw you!"'s rippled through their spectators as Gray lead Ryu and Nina back to the bar. Rocko raised studded eyebrows when the woren laid cash on the counter top. "I got this guy's tab, no questions, 'aight?" he said, jutting his thumb at Ryu. "Give 'im a room too if ya can." The burly bartender smiled and took the money, shaking his head. "Oh, an' anotha round for us an' whateva bros from tha wrestlin' table come up 'ere," Gray added.

"Whateva yo' say, Gray," Rocko laughed.

They were all handed new pitchers. Gray pulled back his hood and raised his to his muzzle. Nina and Ryu looked him over. He was gray all right, from the base of his neck to the starting point of his black tipped ears. His left eye was covered by a black leather eye patch with an embossed skull and crossbones on it. His right, was bright blue. Two studs were on either side of the bridge of his nose.

"Let's hear this plan of yours," Ryu said.

Gray set his mug down hard and burped. "Lemme tell ya first, bro, I ain't evah met no one that could contend with me, ya kno'?" He turned to him. "Where're ya from? Tha accent ya got ain't ringin' no bells."

"Far away," Ryu responded automatically.

Gray frowned. "That ain't an answer."

"It's the most you're going to get."

The woren shrugged and took another gulp of ale. "Fair enuff, bro. Ya got yo' reasons, Great Tigress knows I got enuff 'a my own." He leaned towards him. "As for tha money, I figgur we join forces...an' get double these fool's zenny. None are on par witcha, that, I can promise."

Ryu drained his mug, wiped his mouth on his forearm. "What makes you think they'll let me take it?"

"Beat some o' tha big boys first, an you'll piss tha rest off enuff to try ya."

"Sounds easy."

"Is if done right, bro."

Nina hiccuped beside Ryu. She had drained her pitcher as well, and was looking bleary-eyed. Ryu swallowed and blinked to try and keep his vision straight. "No more for you," he said, pushing away her container.

"Whyer you helpin' us, huh? I heard people in this city aren't so nice," she slurred, brows furrowed doubtfully at the gray woren. "Yous a bandit and you're gonna cheat us, aren'tcha?"

"Hells no I ain't no bandit!" laughed Gray, looking a little offended. "I gotta good reason fo' askin' yo' bro for 'is help, I promise."

She waved her hand nonchalantly. "Yeah, yeah, a pirate, that's what Rocko said ya wanna be."

"That's part of it, girlie."

Nina pursed red lips and leaned her arms on the counter. It took her two tries to settle her chin onto them. "How'd you lose your eye, huh? I'd think if you wanna be a pirate, you'd be good enough _not _to lose anything major like that."

Gray threw his head back and guffawed. "I like yo' girl there, Ryu!" He cried, slapping a hand on the dragon's back. "She got balls!"

"But no brains," Ryu sighed, turning towards Rocko. "Hey, can we get the key to our room?" he called down to him. "I think she's ready to call it a night."

"Wh-what?'!" Nina stood from her stool. "You-you, you can _not_ just send me to bed like a lil' kid!"

She went to stomp her foot, and her heels slid on a peanut shell. Ryu caught her by the top of her backpack. "I can, and I _will_." he growled in her ear. Rocko slid a small, copper key across the counter top. Ryu handed it to Nina, as well as the sack from his back. "Go _straight _to bed. We've got a long day ahead of us."

She glared at him. "What, of more runnin' from soldiers?" Gray eyed them curiously.

Ryu laughed loudly and tousled her hair hard enough to make her wince. "Aww, you're so _funny_! She's really funny, you know? Now go get some _sleep _alright?" he growled through clenched teeth at her.

"_Fine_!" she spat, pulling away from him. "You have fun with your new friend an' I'll go to bed like a...like a _good _girl!" She turned and started up rickety stairs near them. When she got to the top, she stuck her tongue out at him before rounding a corner out of his sight.

"Yo' girl's hilarious there, bro," Gray commented with another laugh.

"Not my girl," growled Ryu, putting his mug to his lips, "my burden."

* * *

Ryu was such a _bastard _sometimes! Nina thought angrily, stumbling up more stairs, dragging his pack behind her. How many stairs did this place _have _anyways?

She slipped on one and fell forward. Luckily, she was quick enough to catch herself on the railing. Something glinted below her. Merybel's pendant. She quickly looked around. No one. She tucked it back into the folds of her shirt.

She tried to stand. Why were her legs so wobbly? There were double sets of stairs now. She sat down on one and cradled her head in her arms. She'd just have to wait here until the dizziness passed. Her stomach rumbled something awful. She swallowed back meat trying to creep its way back up her throat.

Dear Goddess she did _not _need to touch anything alcoholic anymore!

* * *

Zeth Alabaster was silent, careful. A lethal shadow in the dead of the night. You never knew you'd been killed by him until your soul had already departed from your body.

Three men had followed Nina up the stairs while her boyfriend was getting dragged back to the wrestling table by the gray woren. After all, a lady shouldn't be in a place like this by herself, and after seeing that magnificent gem pop out of her shirt when she fell, she was in definite need of their protection.

What they hadn't expected, however, was an even darker being to be following her.

The men were dead before their bodies started to fall to the floor. Zeth caught and sat them against the wall, angling their heads down, so they all looked like drunks taking a nap in the hallway in case anyone else happened to walk by. The shadows masked the blood seeping out from underneath their clothes. The target was sitting almost at the top of the next flight of stairs, looking like she'd had a little too much to drink.

This annoyed the hell out of one of Zeth's inhabitants.

_Ya said we'd get to fight the Angel of Death, Z! Not some lil' girl who can't hold her drink! _The entity known as Lyut raged inside the assassin's head.

The other, Sesimhan the mediator, piped up, _Stop it, Lyut. You know what our job is. All we need to do is kill her. Do it like you just did these guys, Alabaster. Quick and clean. Otherwise, she could make a commotion. _His soft voice sighed. _We really should have taken her out in the forest earlier...I don't know why you insist on killing in public places..._

_Shut UP! Don't nobody need ta listen ta ya annoyin' trap! Fuckin' bor. ring. is what you are!_

Zeth pulled a black cloth from his pocket and carefully wiped it across his blade. "It is safer to attack without the dragon," he whispered. "I would think you would be alright with that plan, considering we know nothing about dealing with his kind."

_Dragon-shmagon, Let 'im come up 'ere! I jus' wanna FIGHT, damnit!_

The girl was getting up now. She staggered down the next hallway. Zeth slunk slowly behind her, sword low to the ground.

Being a part of Zeth meant Sesimhan was well aware of the intrigue growing inside of his host. This was the Angel of Death, and he would be damned if he didn't get one close look at what history was so afraid of before he erased it.

It was a fair deal.

* * *

Nina fumbled with her key, jamming it to the left of, to the right of, and then finally into the lock of room number four; the number etched into the face of the key.

The room was relatively clean, to her surprise, with one large comfortable looking bed against a wall, a table by a window in the middle, and two standing lamps on either side of a dresser with a mirror. She set hers and Ryu's packs down near the dresser. When she stood, her reflection was clear in it's mirror.

At first she was startled by the vivid red of her hair, and then sadness overwhelmed her when it reminded her of Ethan's mop of fire.

Ethan. What would he be doing now? Was there any chance he might be thinking of her?

She shook her head. No, those were dangerous thoughts.

She kicked the side of her pack and bread came spilling out. Cursing, she stuffed it back in and tossed the bag near the table. Then, muttering a few more choice words, kicked off her heels, and flopped down on the bed. She stared up at the wooden ceiling. Two fans, one above her and one on the other side of the room, turned.

She squeezed teary eyes closed, and was asleep not a second later.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Nina, Ethan was in fact thinking of her.

An AG source let him in on Zeth's reports of seeing the Angel near Chamba. So far, he hadn't heard of a successful hit, but it didn't stop him from visualizing Zeth tearing her apart.

Especially if he let Lyut take over.

"Efan! Why you look so sad?" Isabella asked, twirling in front of him on the bright pink, fluffy, circular rug in the center of her bedroom.

He smiled warmly. "You're too young to worry about the affairs of adults," he said patting the top of her head when she skipped to wear he was sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Nuh, uh! I'm a big girl! Sissy sad so!" she huffed, stomping her tiny foot and putting her hands on her hips. Her little wings flapped behind her.

"Well, big girl," Isabella beamed when he said this, "If Sissy says so, then I guess it has to be true." He leaned over and put his elbows on his knees. "I'm just thinking too much about things, that's all."

"Wat kinda tings?"

"That this world is a big, scary place, Isabella. Be glad your only setting is this castle."

Isabella plopped down beside him. "I'm sad too, Efan," she said, mimicking his hunched over stature. "Sissy said she was gonna visit all the time...but she didn't come back _once_!"

"I'm sure Sissy's really busy-"

Isabella sniffed. "Chassa said a monster got her. She's a big, fat liar right?"

Ethan frowned. Chasta was turning out to be a real piece of work lately. "Don't worry about what Chasta says, Isabella." Isabella knew nothing, for all she was concerned, her sister was still living in Ludia, happily married to its prince, and she didn't need to know, what would be the point?

She flashed a toothy smile at him. There was a gap where one of her front teeth had recently fallen out. "'Cause you protect us, right? Sissy always said you would!"

Ethan found it was hard to look the little girl in her eyes. He turned to the large window beside them looking out over the courtyard. Elanaar's two gigantic moons emptied their blue/green light over the room.

There was nothing he could do. No matter what, he was stuck here.

Things were bad with Wyndia and the rest of the world. Already, he'd had to kill four assassins this week aiming for the younger Wynlan. He didn't dare leave her side, not with the rumor spreading that her wings had turned completely black, and she had become the monster her sister had.

He sighed. Isabella hugged onto his arm and started to hum happily, oblivious to the turmoil swirling around her. "Everyone's safe wif E~fan!" she sang, rocking side to side. Ethan's fiery brow furrowed. His fists clenched beside him.

What a merciless, complicated web our lives all have managed to become entangled in.

* * *

Zeth stood over Nina's sleeping form, dark, expressionless eyes staring down at her.

Lyut was begging for control.

Sesimhan was begging against it.

For now, Zeth wanted to observe.

He knelt down, straddling her, and gently pulled the covers down from her face.

She smelled heavily of ale and was snoring softly. His head cocked. She was nothing special; she looked like a normal girl to him.

_Remember, Alabaster. This 'normal girl' tore apart some of Worent, Tantar, and Ludia's best soldiers without the help of her dragon, as well as take out Ivory. _Sesimhan's always careful tone warned. _We must be on our guard-_

Lyut screeched with laughter, _Ivory, pshhh...Just LET 'er try to tear out our throat, boys!_

Zeth's pale fingers hooked underneath the chain of the pendant she was wearing and pulled it out of her shirt. He held it in the palm of his hand, mesmerized for a moment by its weight and the gentle, pulsing glow it emitted.

_Yeah, Yeah, it's a pretty piece, now RIP it off!_

His hand closed, and he tore it from her neck.

* * *

Nina was just sitting down to talk to Ryu's soul, when her sleep was violently interrupted by pain searing through the middle of her back. Her body was pushed upwards by the black wings bursting out, and she opened her eyes to a pair more frightening than Ryu's. Set deep, in a bed of shadowed bags against a white complexion like her own, hooded pitch black eyes held her in place.

She was staring back so hard at their pupil-less emptiness, she almost didn't catch the glint of a sword tip above him.

Gasping, she rolled to the side just as it buried itself into her pillow. She didn't go far; she realized she was between his knees, so she did the only thing she thought would get him off of her.

She covered her forehead in scales and headbutted him as hard as she could.

He went back, she went to the floor holding her throbbing head. Having not have just been woken from a drunken slumber, he recovered far faster than she, and leaped from the bed, thrusting his sword down at her again. She dizzily looked up, and swung out a scale covered forearm. Sparks flew as the blade grazed it and sunk into the wooden floor. Nina rolled over again, got unsteadily to her feet, and almost fell back from the weight of her wings on her back. They spread to catch her.

Her intruder pulled his sword from the ground and gave her another blank, dark circled stare through his long, shadowy bangs. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again to try and stop the drunken double visions of him. He lunged again during the blink, poking and jabbing his blade at her inhumanly fast.

Thank the Goddess Ryu had done this exact thing a few times against her, for this man wasn't quite as fast as the dragon, and it was relatively easy for her to dodge them even in her state, until she tripped on her bag of bread on the floor, and went flying back into the table.

The man's black eyes closed, and reopened the color of blood. His deadened face screwed into a very alive look of demented pleasure, and the sword plunged through her shoulder into the wall behind her.

* * *

Ryu was wrestling his fifth opponent when a very familiar pain tore through his back. He cried out, and let go of the armadillo man's giant hand. "H-hey! What're you playin' at, bro?'!" He cried. "You tryin' to take my money?'!"

Ryu stood, and felt the impact of Nina's headbutt on his forehead. He staggered back, barely missing being slugged by the armadillo. Another man leaned in to see what was going on, and received the full brunt of the humongous man's fury.

Gray beat the guy he was wrestling and stood, "Hey guys! There's no need ta-"

Mugs and fists started to fly. Ryu threw the armadillo man's zenny back at him and tried to make his way to the stairs. A group of men watching the whole mess grabbed at his shirt, throwing their snarling, toothless faces into his. "Where you thank you goin', pretty boy?"

Ryu snarled back, and the men dropped their grip on him instantly, eyes wide.

Then, as soon as they did, his shoulder jerked back, and sprayed blood onto their faces.

Groups turned to look, the pianos and violin stopped playing.

And half the bar piled onto the dragon.

* * *

"Where's yer dragon, huh lil' girl?" The man rasped, getting close to Nina's ear. He twisted the blade and she cried out. "If yer not gonna fight back, I want 'im ta play with!"

Where _was _Ryu? She had gotten hurt enough, surely he knew she was being attacked! Stupid bastard...sending her up to the room alone...of _course _this would happen...!

_You've got to fight back, Fai'en! You can't wait for help!_

"It _hurts_...!" she groaned out loud.

The sword moved an inch to the side. Blood poured.

_He's going to slice it through you! Fight back, damnit!_

It was no use, she was frozen. Those eyes...

His wicked smile spread to both ears. "Yer gonna let me cut ya in half, huh girlie?" Another inch. This time, she screamed. He licked his lips. "How much are ya gonna bleed...? I hope a lot-" Ryu's soul forced her right hand onto his shoulder and shot a bone spike through it. Demonic eyes flickered over following no indication of pain whatsoever. Laughter pierced her ears. "Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!"

Behind him, the door flew open. Ryu staggered in with one of his eyes blackened, grasping his shoulder, a bone blade already protruding from his arm. He wasted no time talking, and fell into the shadows.

The man pulled his sword from the wall, twisted to break Nina's spike off her hand, and jumped back. "'Aight, Sesim, aight!" he growled, jerking the spike out of his shoulder and throwing it to the floor. His eyes closed, his expression softened, and he reopened bright, emerald green orbs. They darted up. He threw his sword to the upper left of him, just as Ryu appeared out of the shadows. Their blades connected, Ryu disappeared again. They connected again down near the man's legs, then the other side above his head.

Nina tried to concentrate for scales to fill her wound -and for the bone the man broke to regrow in her arm- watching Ryu and the man fight, her heart in her throat.

They continued their deadly dance for another couple of rounds, blood from their previous wounds slinging into the floor, until an out of breath Gray suddenly appeared in the doorway.

"What's goin' on, bro?'! Everyone's goin' nuts downstairs-" His one eye widened at Nina. "H-holy shit, the black wing-"

Ryu reappeared near Gray and kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him flying back against the opposite wall in the hallway. He used the same foot to slam the door closed.

The man was again on Nina, but this time she had both of her forearms scaled up, and was barely managing to deflect his blows. Ryu came at him from the side, and the man impossibly deflected him at the same time he was attacking the girl.

The door burst open again. Gray raised his arm covered in armor, and shot an arrow out of his gauntlet, into the intruder's upper back. He cried out, jerking forward. Nina swung an arm at his head. Somehow he recovered fast enough to drop down and dodge it. The momentum of her swing sent her colliding into Ryu, and the man took the split second opportunity to bust out the window near them with his elbow and leap through.

Ryu started to go after him, but Gray was still gaping at Nina from the doorway. He dashed to him in an instant and pinned him up against the wall, bone blade against his neck. Yellow eyes flickered to the hallway. "H-h-h-h-ey chill out, bro!" Gray stammered.

"Now that you know, I can't let you leave," Ryu growled between ragged breaths.

"W-w-w-w-wait, ya gotta let me speak!" Gray threw both hands up in surrender.

"There's nothing you can say to-"

"Ya have ta let me join ya!"

Ryu's brow furrowed, but his snarl did not fade.

"That guy be Zeth Alabasta from tha AG," Gray explained quickly, eying Ryu's "blade" warily, "I been looking for a speci'fic member of that group for a long time, bro, but 'is trail's been cold for years. If ya got an AG hit on ya, theys might send 'im one day. I can't let a chance like this get away!"

Ryu frowned harder, "There's no way I can trust you-"

"'Bout fiddy guys downstairs think ya started a fight an wanna come up 'ere to kill ya. I stopped 'em, an' I can keep 'em from callin' tha 'thorities."

"No deal, you'll rat us out the moment you step down there," Ryu tensed his arm, preparing to slice open the gulping furry neck in front of him.

"If I do, ya can tell 'em I'm Ironsides' son, an' I'm wanderin' 'round with tha Beast Tiga's blood in me. Do it, an' it won't matter ya didn't kill me here...I'll be dead befo' ya finish talkin', bro, I swear!"

"Beast Tiger?"

Nina calmed her breathing enough to speak. "I-Ironsides?" She didn't know much about what went on in the world, but she did remember her father speaking years ago about how Worent was on the lookout for a woren of that name.

"I got tha guys downstairs, 'aight? I'll come back an' I promise I'll explain evry thing," Gray pleaded. "Please, bro. Ya trusted me befo'...an' ya gotta believe I don't go back on my promises."

Ryu glared at him for a few moments, then, to Nina's relief, slowly lowered his blade; she was in no mood to see a murder. "...Hurry up," he snarled, "If you're not back in ten minutes..." He disappeared into the shadows and reappeared for example. "I will dispose of you without anyone seeing a thing."

Gray nodded quickly, "I dig ya, bro, I really do."

Ryu walked past Nina after the woren dashed out, and snatched her broken pendant off of the floor, tossing her an angry look.

She scowled back, tapping her arm to make sure the bone was back before completely getting rid of the scales on it. "What? This wouldn't have happened if you had come up here with me, you know. You were all adamant about me staying near when we got into the place, and as soon as you could, you ditched me!"

"I taught you how to fight so I would not have to be your babysitter, Fai'en," he melted together the broken chain of her necklace with a flare from his finger. "She must be asleep," he muttered, referring to Merybel. He tossed the gem to Nina. "Put it back on, and for the love of Ladon, hide it better."

She took a deep breath and braced for the impact of the wings returning back into her body. Her and Ryu both winced when she put it on. She grabbed the edge of the table top to stop herself from falling forward. "There's not much else I can do, Ryu. It has to go around my neck. All I can do is put it underneath my shirt. And I'm sorry, but the AG _scares _me! They've had _years _of training! It's not my fault if I get a little overwhelmed when attacked..."

"I don't care what you do, just..." he gave a loud exasperated sigh and sat down on the bed, putting his head in his hands. "Ladon, help us. Everywhere we go, you do something stupid."

"_I'm _stupid?'!" she exploded, "I did what you told me to do! So who's the stupid one?"

He retracted his bone blade and pulled his shirt off over his head. A line of crimson scales decorated his left shoulder. "I thought you'd realized by now that no matter what is going on around us, it is imperative you never let your guard down."

"You left me drunk and alone! If that's not 'letting your guard down', I don't know what is!"

"I am so _tired _of being your godsdamn shadow!" He snarled.

"And I'm tired of _you_!"

He rubbed his shoulder, glaring at the ground.

Nina glanced down at her own. She'd have to get a new shirt, her blood had soaked through it. "How come you didn't see that guy coming after me? You're a dragon. Couldn't you have smelled him or something?"

"How many sweaty, unbathed men do you think were down there in that room, Fai'en? I couldn't tell them from you if I tried."

She frowned, but he was right. It was a stink fest down there, and he didn't have eyes in the back of his head. It just felt good blaming him again.

"I might be stupid for trusting that woren, though" he muttered almost inaudibly, clenching one of his fists. He looked over at her. "Find something to put over that window." Nina used the table cloth. Ryu tapped his foot impatiently on the floor, eyes darting to the door. "Five more minutes...

"He helped us fight that guy," Nina said, "And that was _after _you knocked him out of the room. He can't be all bad."

"It is dangerous to be too trusting, Fai'en, it's a wonder you-"

Before he could finish insulting, Gray strolled in with a keg over his shoulder and three mugs in his hand, the nervousness he was showing before completely gone. "Ya'll lucky," he said, setting everything down on the table and taking a seat. Ryu eyed him like a predator. "Zeth killed some bros in tha hallway prob'ly comin' afta doll face here." Nina gasped and threw a quick glare at Ryu. "Theys were known punks. I told all tha guys ya saw them, an' had to go save yer girl, ya know."

"They won't be bothering us then?" Ryu asked, ignoring Nina, shoulders still noticeably tense.

"Ya, theys all agree yo' girl was cute enuff for ya ta wanna fight through all theys ugly mugs ta save so..." Gray trailed off, looking at the dragon's biceps flexed and ready, and sighed. "Listen, bro, I promised 'aight? Ya need to calm down."

"I will 'calm down' when you explain yourself," the dragon retorted icily.

Gray sighed. "Yous all business, ain'tcha? 'Aight." He reached up, lifted off his eye patch, and opened up a perfectly good bright green eye. Around it, about an inch wide, was a circle of tawny fur. "My ol' man was supposed ta be tha leada of Worent, see, but a life like that ain't what he wanted, so he ran away ta be a pirate. Thing is, tha 'royal' bloodline o' the worens all have tha blood o' tha Beast Tiger runnin' through theys veins, an' it ain't somethin' the elda's of Worent want runnin' 'round unchecked, ya dig?"

Nina sat down at the table across from him, head cocked in interest. So that was why Worent was grilling her father for Ironsides all those years ago.

"Sometime durin' 'is travels, 'e came ta Yuistel, tha only known village of tha gray worens. Theys never have nothin' ta do with Worent - tha gray's jus' be diffrent cola but the 'normals' think we's diseased or somethin'- an' theys don't trust much else...so they tend ta stay ta themselves." he poured some ale and took a sip out of one of the mugs. He offered one of the others to Nina. She shook her head and passed it back to Ryu who, surprisingly, took it. "Anyways, my motha's a good lookin' gal, an' she caught his eye." He laughed softly. "I ain't supposed to exist. Tha Beast Tiger was neva supposed ta touch gray woren blood. He don't like it, an' he tells me ev'ry day-" he paused, scratching his head, looking embarrassed. "Ah, ya must think I'm crazy sayin' somethin' like that..."

Ryu took a gulp and shook his head. "I don't," he said.

"Anyways, that's my story. If Worent eva finds out I exist, I'll be killed, an now ya have that ta hold ova me head." He gave a knowing nod to Nina. "I've heard some gruesome storys about ya girlie, but ya seem ta me like a good gal that jus has somethin' potenti'ally bad in ya...like me, that tha world's too scared ta try an' undastand." He shook his head. "I couldn't turn yas in no way, I'd be...ya know, a hypocrite if I did that."

She shook her head, "It's not just potentially bad...it _is _bad..." she muttered softly.

Gray noticed she was getting uncomfortable and turned to Ryu, "Ya know, I feel a lot betta knowin' you's a dragon, bro," Gray chuckled at him. "I was pretty sore fo' a bit thinkin' some human boy rolled up in there an' was about to beat me, no problem like that! It ain't no wonda ya could stand up against Zeth Alabasta fo' as long as ya did."

"I'd like to know who he is. I don't know much about this AG," Ryu said.

"That ain't good, ya got tha most deadliest 'sins out ta get ya and ya don't even know whatcha up against?" Gray asked with a frown.

Nina sighed and lowered her head; a brass band started to play inside it. "There hasn't been much free time for us to research, I'm afraid."

"Lucky fo' ya, I'm here and ya really don't need ta! Mind ya, I don't know ev'rything, but I do know about good ol' Zeth. He's one o' tha bad ones too, tha ones tha world calls a 'demon'. Got a crazy story ta go along with 'im too."

"Elaborate," Ryu said.

Gray nodded, "Tha Alabasta fam'ly was a creepy bunch. They was cult-like, all livin' in a dark, abandoned buildin' dabblin' in dark magic an' such ta try an' create weapons an such ta put their name on tha map." He took a gulp of ale. "Or somethin' like that, no one really knows what theys plan was, but their biggest sin was when they decided ta put tha souls of two of tha baddest serial killas Ludia'd eva seen, into a boy they trained from a babe ta handle."

Nina blinked. "He has two guys' souls in him?"

"Ya, crazy, huh? One's Lyut Raison, the Bloody. That bastard _loved _blood, would litr'aly bathe in tha stuff afta he killed people. Tha other's Sesimhan Yolen. He was a quiet, calculatin' sonofabitch. Was said ta be one of tha smartest, maticu'lous killas recorded. Got tha dexter'ty of three worens and a highlander put tagetha, I swear; He was prob'ly tha one fightin' ya both at tha same time like that in tha end. Zeth 'imself is like corpse. That's how they raised him ta be. With those otha bros in 'im, I guess there ain't no mo' room fo' 'is own emotions, prob'ly."

"His eyes change colors when they take over don't they?" Nina asked. "I saw it."

"Yep. Lyut's red, Sesim's green. Our friend Zeth's got eyes blacker than tha tip o' my ears."

Nina shivered. Lyut's demented expression would forever be burned into the back of her eyelids alongside Ivory's.

"Ludia hired the AG ta get rid of tha Alabasta cult cuz they was scared. They sent some newbie they was trainin', a Wyndian named Ethan Von Buren ta take care of 'em." Nina's heart skipped a beat. Gray shook his head. "Von Buren must be one dangerous fella, cause he laid waste ta that whole place by his lonesome, an still was able ta beat Zeth enough ta almost kill 'im." The woren burped loudly. "Sorry, girlie, I ain't used ta royalty bein' around. I'll try ta hold it in," he said with a sheepish look.

Nina shook her head, "I think I'm long gone from being royalty anymore, I wouldn't worry much."

He winked at her. "'Aight, well don't complain when somethin' sounds out from tha otha end." She looked a little shocked at that and it made him burst into hearty laughter. Even Ryu cracked a small smile. "I kid, I kid, but anyways ta continue, Von Buren was supposed ta kill Zeth, but they had such a good fight, Jaxx decided ta take in Zeth fo' 'imself."

"But why would the AG do that?" Nina asked. "Wouldn't he be more of a threat to them than anything since Etha- er the Wyndian, killed his entire family?"

"Nah, that's how tha AG works. Theys find tha strong ones in this world, an' make sure theys ain't goin' 'round tryin' ta take nothin' ova. My ol' man prob'ly has tha same story. Beast Tiger ain't somethin' ta snub ya nose at, ya know."

"You know a unhealthy amount about this group," Ryu commented, followed by a burp of his own.

"I gotta, if I wanna find 'im."

"Why do you want to so badly?" asked Nina.

"I gotta go where I belong." Gray leaned back in his chair and put a boot on the table. "Man ta see ol' Ironsides again...Damn I'm getting' excited jus thinkin' about tha look on 'is mug."

"But if your father comes after us, how will I know you won't turn your back the moment he attacks?" Ryu asked, eyes narrowing.

"Naw, bro I ain't no double crossa, I'll talk 'im out of it," Gray said. "Yous a scary bastid, Ryu, but ya didn't kill me. Ya gave me a chance. That's more than I thought somethin' as bad mouthed as a dragon mighta evah done." He filled his mug up again and took a swig. "So what's ya'lls story? I know yous a dragon, an she's tha black death...but...why yo' guys? I 'eard so much stuff floatin' 'round 'bout yo' fools bein' bloodthirsty monstas...but ya've only raised weapons ta threats. Bandits be much worse."

"Bad circumstances," said Nina simply. There was nothing else to say. She had no idea why her dice had rolled this way.

"Where ya headin'? I gotta map if ya wanna look at it," Gray reached into his coat and pulled out a thick, folded piece of paper. He spread it across the table.

"Drogen," Ryu said, getting up to look at it.

"Where's that?" Gray asked. "I ain't neva heard of it."

"City of the dragons. I'm sure it's not on a modern map." The dragon leaned down. Nina saw the wound on his shoulder was almost gone now, and the bruises around his eyes were yellow.

"Dragons've been gone fo' a long time, bro, It be really sup'risin' ya exist in this day n' time. Whatcha do? Kick motha naytcha in tha face when she wiped all o' them out?"

"It wasn't my choice to be in this time," Ryu said distantly. He dragged his finger down at the bottom of the map. "Below this forest," he said, pointing to a large mass of green underneath the deserts of Shyde. The land wasn't named.

Gray whistled. "That's a trek, bro. Through tha deserts too...You ain't afraid o' Shyde?"

"I'm not afraid of much."

The woren guffawed. "This ain't gonna be borin' that's fo' sho'!"

Ryu's eyebrows knitted, "What all this down here?" He pointed to a gigantic blob of darkness below where Drogen was supposed to be. There was an unidentifiable monster drawn snarling by it.

Gray leaned over. "I asked tha guy that sold it ta me tha same thing. He didn't say nothin', jus' ta neva go ova there."

"Well," Ryu said, folding it back up. "I guess we'll find out, huh?"

Gray's eyes twinkled. Nina's closed nervously.

* * *

Zeth staggered through the back alleyways of Chamba, his hand over the top right of his chest where the point of an arrow was barely poking through his clothes. Warm blood trickled in a steady stream down his skin.

He was lucky. It didn't hit anything vital, but it still hurt like hell.

Sesim had withdrawn the moment it hit. He and Lyut never liked to take pain. Zeth was used to it.

Eyes of dirty beggars avoided him as he dragged his feet past. In this city, you didn't ask questions, they more than likely would get you killed, and life in the trash was better than death in the trash.

He reached a particularly dark corner and slid his hand over a dent in the wall. It gave in even more to his touch, and a section of the wall opened to reveal a stairway leading down. Dim lights emitting eerie greenish glows flickered. He descended, the door closed behind him.

At the bottom of the stairs, a young woman in a white coat splattered with blood was waiting on him, the lenses on her thick, black glasses shining. He was nearly unconscious when he reached her, she lent him support. "You weren't kidding...you're really a mess, Alabaster," she said, her dark curly ponytail piling onto his shoulder. He didn't say anything, and she expected as much, "Come on, let's get that arrow out of you."

An hour later, Zeth was sleeping soundly in a concrete room in a hospital bed looking like it had seen better days, his shirt replaced by bloody bandages. Surgical equipment reminiscent of torture devices hung on the walls and sat on a steel table beside him. The nurse pulled off bloody gloves and left the room, pulling a heavy, creaking door closed behind her.

She rounded a corner and lifted up her crimson splotched sleeve to reveal a communicator. She pressed buttons with long, unpainted fingernails and waited until a familiar face filled the screen. "Ah, Sophia...what an honor, it's been, what, a few days, love?"

Sophia smirked, "Charming as usual. Listen, I overheard some information I think you'll pay a lot to hear."

The face smiled back. "Oh? And what might that be?"

* * *

Prince Vahn barged into the room of the brothel he was staying at and started to gather up his things. A naked blonde woman sat up in his bed, alarmed. "Vahn baby, what is it? You're leaving?" He barely gave her a nod. "But we didn't get a chance to play yet!" she pouted.

He ignored her. He didn't need her.

Not now that he knew his wife was only minutes from him.

He smiled as he fastened his suitcase, getting excited just thinking about her.

He really hoped she was still a virgin.

* * *

**A/N: **I don't know if anyone noticed, but I changed Zeth's normal eye color to black. It was blue, but I felt writing this, that it didn't suffice. It's been changed on the previous chapter as well. Sorry, I try not to change things, but ya know, stuff happens.

Ty for all the support, I'm so happy to see ppl staying with this =3 You all deserve blueberry waffles.


	18. Chapter 17

**A/N: ***WARNING* This chapter is a little racy, a little creepy, and _very_ drama-riffic. Enjoy!

**Chapter Seventeen**

_I Own You_

Nina's head drooped. Heavy, puffy eyelids slid slowly down. It would be heaven to close them for just a teensy moment...

_No._ She snapped back up. That crazy guy was out there somewhere, wounded, but still out there, and both Ryu and Gray were looking to be no help at all.

Fully convinced his arrow had shot true, and Zeth would not return for the rest of the night -if _ever-_ the woren had jovially talked Ryu into drinking the rest of the keg with him, so they could "get ta kno' one anotha mo'". Now, as morning light filtered through the cheap fibers of the dark table cloth hanging over the window, Gray was laid out on the bed dead to the world, snoring up a storm, and Ryu was draped in a similar manner across the table beside her. Annoyed amber flickered to him.

She had overheard most of their talk during the night -well, really only Gray was talking, Ryu sat drinking and listening to the woren's lively stories quietly for the most part- and while she was able to learn a bit more about Gray -his real name was Caleb Bloodclaw, he was twenty-seven years old, he made his armor himself, and he had a 'mad thang' for human girls with facial piercings- she was furious warriors like them would let their guard down so easily, _especially _since Ryu had torn into her earlier about just that.

She blew on her bangs and went back to studying Gray's map. It had been an embarrassingly long time since she had seen one with any countries on it other than Wyndia and Ludia, so she decided she needed to get a better bearing on their surroundings. Her eyes traveled over massive splotches of barren brownness lining most of the map's left side.

Shyde was...huge, and they were going to have to go through it all to reach the regions Drogen was supposedly in.

Her hands shook at the thought of traveling through the place she had only heard terrible, horrible things about. Decrepit cities governed by bandits where the only color in the streets or the poverty stricken people hearts was gray, wastelands stretching for miles without any trace of water or vegetation, sandstorms sweeping through the lands strong enough to strip flesh from bone...

The place the AG called home.

Ryu's head raised in her peripheral. Her lips pursed. She was going to ignore the hypocrite. Drinking like that with a guy he was prepared to kill just hours earlier? She was glad he was experiencing the pounding headache she was at this moment.

He stretched with a loud, fang exposing yawn, and settled his chin back on folded arms. Pale orbs locked onto her and stared.

...and stared.

...and _stared._

"_What?_'_!_" she hissed at him when she could stand it no longer.

He cocked his head to the side. As he did so, unwanted pools of blood collected in her cheeks, reminding her again of the annoying fact that, cleaned up like this, and not wearing a scowl, she wasn't finding him such a terrible thing to look at anymore. "I am growing fond of your hair, Fai'en," he finally spoke in a groggy, scratchy voice. He coughed to clear his throat.

She cut her eyes from him to the map. "Is that so?" she asked, nonchalantly. He was still drunk. There was no way he would ever give her any sort of compliment while sober.

...right?

"Yes," he said with an over exaggerated nod. Yep, still drunk. "Even when the color goes back to normal, I believe that length will keep you from looking like her, so it should continue not being a problem resisting the urge to bash your face until it is unrecognizable." The blood flowed back down. She slowly turned her head towards him, mouth slightly ajar. He smirked. "That is a good thing, yes?"

Amber reverted to the map, concentrated far more than necessary on the crude monster scrawled onto the bottom of it. "Y-yes, it is," she stuttered. Why did he have to _say _things like that? "I-I-I don't want to look like that murderer, that's for sure."

Her stomach dropped the moment the words left her lips. She wasn't supposed to know her ancestor was a murderer!

Ryu didn't reply. She mustered all the strength she could to drag her apprehensive gaze back to again meet his...and found relief in his look of confusion. Good, he still wasn't sober enough to fit together the puzzle. She pushed her chair back and stood suddenly before the hole she was digging became any deeper. "I'm going to take a shower!" she announced loudly. Gray answered with a snore. Ryu, a roll of his shoulders, dark brows still knitted.

The Wyndian walked briskly to the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her. She leaned back against it, exhaling breath she realized she'd been holding hostage. Stupid! Stupid! _Stupid!_ Her palm hit her forehead three times before she stopped herself, cursing. Could he feel this too? The feeling of a hole opening wider and wider in her stomach until her insides would inevitably spill out all over the floor?

She threw off her shirt, turned on the water in the sink and splashed a handful onto her face.

Was he going to remember and confront her later? she thought, watching beads of liquid drip from her chin and nose in the mirror. Would he be angry? What was she supposed to say? 'Oh, sorry, I had a conversation with one of your faerie friends and, whoooops, well she told me some private stuff about you! Hope you're not too bothered!'

In the back of her mind, she felt his soul laugh at her gently. "Goddess almighty..._,_" she muttered, not amused by its amusement. "For once, I'd like to say something that would _not _make him hate me any more than he already does-"

A puff of sparkles exploded from her breast, and Merybel was in front of her, snatching a handful of her hair in a tiny fist. Nina's wings burst from her back against the wall and nearly slammed her face into the mirror. The faerie pulled her bangs back so she wouldn't hit. "Who told you?" she growled, tanned face screwing into a scowl. "Who told you about that witch killing Master Ryu's family?'!"

"Ryu said not to come out like that!" Nina moaned, "Agh, I can't _move_!" The black monstrosities behind her were taking up the entire bathroom.

"It was Carlye, wasn't it? _Wasn't it?'!_ Oh, that _dummy!_" Merybel spat. She gripped the tuft of vibrant red hair harder, narrowing her eyes. "Better keep your damned mouth shut around him, you hear me? You will not talk about what that woman has done to him _ever_ again!"

Ryu was the one that had brought her up! Nina winced. "I get it! I _get _it!" Damn deranged faerie and her selective hearing! She knew she would get nowhere fighting back with her. "You know you're hurting your precious master's scalp too!"

Merybel stuck out her tongue and retreated into the gem, just as the bathroom door flew open. Nina grabbed a towel from the wall and whirled around. Ryu stood in the doorway with his eyebrows raised. "Learn to knock!" she screamed, kicking the door closed. She heard him mutter something as he walked away, and sat back on the counter, rubbing the top of her head gently.

_Do not forget what I said, dummy! _Mery's voice floated up. _Or I'll...I'll...I'll figure out something to do that isn't physical!_

Nina glared down at the jewel, but again managed to hold her tongue. It was most likely an empty threat, and anyway Mery wasn't the one she was afraid of.

If Ryu knew half of even the miniscule bit she knew of him...

She swallowed hard and started the shower.

* * *

Two hours and still no sleep later, Nina's stomach decided for her it was time for sustenance, and Ryu decided until she proved to him she was able to handle herself, he wasn't going to let her out of his sight again. The yawning dragon followed her down rickety stairs into a sun streaked, deserted bar.

Rocko was behind the counter wiping the inside of a mug with a grease stained rag. He looked up when he heard the two coming. "Why 'ello thar, trouble makas!" he laughed. "I'm jus' joshin', what can I do fer' ya?"

"I'm hungry," said Nina tiredly, taking a seat at the bar. Ryu took one to the left of her. "What do you have?"

"I don't got much in tha way o' breakfast...but I do got some meat from last night. If'n ya can deal wit mo'nin steak, I can whip it up."

Nina's mouth began to water. Apparently her stomach could. "I'll take it." To Ryu, in old Wyndian, "You have money, right?"

"Don't look at me like that, this time I do."

"What a relief."

"I'll have the same," Ryu said, switching back to common for Rocko after he cut his eyes at Nina.

Rocko hung the mug on one of a series of hooks hanging from ceiling shelves above them. "Comin' right up. I'm always here fo' payin' custamas." He disappeared through swinging wooden doors into a back room.

Ryu laid his head down on his arms. "Wake me when the food comes," he mumbled.

"Some guard _you _are," Nina hissed. He ignored her, turning his head away from the angry glare burning into him.

Because he was being like this, Zeth was probably going to walk through the door any minute now with her stupid luck-

A bell above the bar entrance door sounded and Nina's head whipped toward it, her heart taking a giant leap into her throat.

It wasn't Zeth (she almost laughed out loud at herself; what kind of assassin would simply stroll through the front door like that?'!) but a man wearing a long, dark brown hooded cloak carrying a green cloth sack over his shoulder. He took a seat at Nina's other side and set the bag on the floor. The Wyndian breathed a sigh of relief. Just another traveler. Nothing strange at all.

Sizzling sounds seeped from the room Rocko had gone into, as well as the smell of spicy, peppery deliciousness. Nina sniffed the air. One of her hands clutched at her stomach. Why did she feel like she hadn't eaten in days? She really _did _have a dragon's stomach now. There was a bucket of peanuts sitting in font of her on the counter top. She'd sustain herself with those.

Her hand went into the bucket, and her fingers brushed the ones of the traveler beside her also reaching in. She glanced over at him awkwardly. His face was nearly lost the cowl turning her way; only a clean shaven smile was visible. "E-excuse me," she apologized.

Instead of a spoken answer, he brushed his fingers back over hers intentionally.

Cheeks flaring, she quickly grabbed some nuts and turned her body more towards a now snoring softly Ryu.

He was staring at her. She could feel it, but she didn't understand why he would be. She had seen herself in the bathroom mirror; no sleep had her looking like a zombie, and (since the faeries obviously didn't know how to give her clothes that fit) the shirt she traded her bloodied dress for was the most unflattering, baggy garment she could have ever put on!

She nervously cracked some of the nuts and ate them. The man beside her did the same.

There was something about him. A smell, a feeling..._something_ was turning her stomach inside out, making her palms sweat, tremble, making the scales quiver underneath her skin.

The sizzling sounds in the other room stopped. Rocko came out with two plates of steaming meat. He set them down in front of Nina and Ryu and she nudged the sleeping dragon. "Huh? Oh? Oh, I see." He sleepily put money on the counter, grabbed onto some silverware, and starting cutting his steak, shoulders hunched.

"Anotha custama!" Rocko slung a rag over his shoulder, smiling widely at the traveler. "So early in tha mo'rn too, this is a first I tell ya. What can I getcha? Want steaks too like these fellas?"

"Water," the man said softly.

Nina's tremors worsened. That voice was _very _familiar...

"'Aight, a _free _glass o' wata it is," Rocko filled a glass and handed it to him. "I got dishes ta do be'fo' tha lunch drunks come scragglin' by in a few hours, so ya'll behave yaselfs okay?" he laughed heartily, vanishing again into the back.

Ryu scarfed down his food in three gulps, then turned to Nina. "You haven't touched yours! Hurry up and eat so we can go back to bed."

Her appetite was gone. She didn't know where it went but the last thing she could think about was stomaching that food. Her legs twitched, sent her the message they wanted to carry her away from this place and never stop.

But _why?_

She made herself swallow a few bites, and pushed it away. "Alright, I'm done," she said getting up, trying not to look at the man sipping on his water. Ryu shrugged, wolfing down her bit when she hurried past him to the stairs.

"Why are you walking so fast, Fai'en?" He asked when he caught up, watching her double step the stairs.

What was this panic? It wasn't Zeth...could it have been another member of the AG? No, nothing would be familiar about someone she had never met. That voice..._where _had she heard that voice before?

"Fai'en!" Ryu moved in front of her.

She stopped. Her eyes stayed on the ground. "I..." Should she say anything? Knowing him, he'd probably make fun of her, tell her she was being paranoid, since he didn't look like he sensed any sort of danger. She shook her head. "N-nothing. I really need some sleep."

"Yes, you do. It's not an enjoyable feeling to be tired enough for two people, you know."

"I'm sorry, I'll try to-"

Ryu's body jerked to the side and was thrown against a wall. Nina's head whipped in his direction, then flew back as she too was thrown into the opposite one. It slammed against wood, and everything went black.

* * *

Gray groaned. His unarmored arm flopped heavily across his forehead. What the hell was all that _noise_? It was making the pounding already resonating in his brain excruciating. He growled and pulled a pillow over his face to drown it out.

* * *

Agony all through the back of her head.

She couldn't move anything.

Oh Gods, was she paralyzed?'!

No, no, there, her foot was twitching.

She forced heavy eyelids open to see a fuzzy, dark form walking toward her. It took something off of its head, releasing a golden blur to bounce out. "My, my, to think I'd find you hiding out in a dirty old dive like this."

That voice again...

Oh _Gods..._

She closed lids to blink away the fuzz, and almost lost the battle of raising them again. The distorted form knelt. One hand cupped the side of her face. The other, snaked up one of her tingling legs. "I've missed you _so _much..." A hot mouth found hers. She tightened her lips, found she could move her head to the side. Fingers pried her jaws back open.

She blinked again and Prince Vahn filled her vision.

"Ry-" she tried to scream, but Vahn muffled it with another kiss.

Terrified amber darted wildly around. Her arms were back against the wall behind her, held fast by hold magic. Her knees were up, her feet were stuck to the floor by the same means. Ryu was on his knees, his arms high above his head, trapped like hers on the other wall, throwing all of his weight against the magic, snarling, "Get off of her, you bastard! Don't touch her!"

Vahn turned, pointed toward the dragon and simply stated, "Silence." A tiny bolt of white lightning zapped Ryu's jaw. The dragon tried to yell again. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. He bared his teeth. "I don't think you are in any position to tell me what I can and can not do with my own wife, dragonboy." He gazed back lovingly at Nina, "Isn't that right, love?"

She was frozen. Nothing, not Zeth, not Ivory, not even the Kaiser, _nothing_ frightened her more than the nightmare of Vahn finding her again.

Ryu's soul was yelling something, but it was impossible to comprehend it, Vahn was on her again. His mouth latched onto her neck, his hands lifted her tunic, tracing up the bare flesh of her trembling stomach. Her breath shortened, tears slid down burning cheeks. "He looks pretty angry," breathed the human into her ear, causing a revolted shudder to tear through her. "Please tell me that monster hasn't already had his way with you, I would be simply _devastated _if I wasn't the first." The fingers of one of his traveling hands slid underneath the lace of her brassiere. The other closed around Merybel's pendant. "Zeth says this is what's hiding your beautiful wings," he snapped the chain. Wings ripped out of her for the second time that day and pushed her torso up from the wall into his. He whispered something to the stone and tossed it to the ground. "I heard there was a little faerie in there," he purred, sliding both hands behind her and grabbing onto her wings. She gasped at the touch. "She'll have a hard time maneuvering around that charm..."

"S-stop...!" Nina squirmed uncomfortably beneath him. It was disgusting, the feelings she was getting from him stroking her wings like he was.

"You like that, don't you?" he mused in a husky voice, flicking his tongue over her earlobe, "So do I..." Behind him, through the tears, she could see Ryu's repulsed face reddening.

_SNAP OUT OF IT, FAI'EN!_

_No._ This was _not _going to happen.

Ryu's soul's scream sliced through her fear, and she bit down hard on the tips of the prince's fingers when he moved to pry her mouth open again. He cried out, pulling them away sharply. He glared a moment, nursing the throbbing digits, but his distaste soon disappeared with a deep, calming breath as his eyes drifted over her exposed undergarments. "Now is that any way to treat your husband?"

He came forward again. She spat in his face.

All the anger brewing beneath her terror exploded through, ignited by the steady trickle of the dragon's fury seeping into her veins. "Keep your filthy hands off of me, you disgusting, scumbag piece of _shit!_" she raged against the magic.

Vahn slowly wiped the spit off of his face, and burst into laughter. "Goddess, you're so damn _fiesty_!" his palm went over her mouth and he slammed her head back against the wall. Her vision again fuzzed over. "But that's what drives me wild," he pushed himself against her. "Can't you feel it, love?"

Veins streaked across Ryu's forehead as he pulled forward, snapping his teeth wildly at the prince. Vahn heard the clicks of his canines and glanced back, "What's wrong? Jealous?" he asked with a smirk, ripping open her pants and jerking them down just below her hips. "Don't worry, I'll let you watch- _ow!_" Nina chomped down on a chunk of his palm. He tore his bleeding hand from her mouth and backhanded her with the other. "Insolent little _bitch_!" he grabbed a handful of hair from her crown and jerked her head back. His angry breath was hot against her skin, "It makes me _crazy_ when you fight back, Nina. No woman has ever refused me so adamantly, you see?" he snarled through gritted teeth, a safe distance from her mouth, "But I will _not_ tolerate _barbaric_ behavior! You are my wife, therefore _I. Still. Own. You_. I commanded you once before to learn your place, and that's underneath me speaking nothing but of how great I am, is that _clear_, Nina Valentina Ludias of Ludia?"

"Burn. In. _Hell!_" she snapped back. He let go of her hair and struck her again as hard as he could. Something caught his eye as he did so. Did the dragon just flinch? He glanced over at Ryu. His cheeks were red in the same place he had just hit the girl. Perfectly arched blonde brows furrowed. Vahn turned back to Nina and brought the back of his hand across her face once more. Blood flecked onto her cheek from where a ring on his finger caused a split in her lip. Ryu's lip suddenly cracked as well.

A wicked smile crawled across the princes' features. "Oho, what's this? Part of the curse?" He pointed at Nina's shoulder. A beam of magic tore through it. "Silence," he enchanted her lips the moment she screamed. Just as he expected, blood sprayed from a fresh wound in the dragon's shoulder. "Well now, this is a _surprise,_" the prince laughed. "Whatever I do to her, you can feel as well?" Ryu grit his teeth and watched with wide eyes, Vahn's hands go to his own belt. "I guess that means you both are about to get screwed-"

"Not if I have somethin' ta do wit it!" Gray swung his armor plated arm and bashed the side of Vahn's head. The mage's concentration broke, and both Nina and Ryu were released from his hold.

Scales poured over Nina's clenched fist as she brought it back, and with a cry reminiscent of a beast, she punched Vahn once, twice, and then a third time, flattening his nose against his face. He fell back into Ryu, who snatched the front of his cloak and threw him to the ground. The dragon pinned his shoulders down with his knees and crossed two newly brandished bone blades at his throat.

Vahn stared up at him, face a mask of blood. "You sick bastard," Ryu literally spat on him. "I'm going to enjoy this."

"Wait!" Nina cried, the sight of Vahn's crimson mess of a face enough to pull her head above the flood of the dragon's rage. She flashed back to Ivory's lifeless body dangling over her, the blood looking so dark against her white skin. "Don't kill him!"

"Why the hell _not_?'!"Ryu snarled, "You have to know what he was about to do to you, t-to us!"

She wiped her bloodied lip on her tunic. Already her throbbing shoulder was filling with scales. She fought to stop trembling. "I'm aware," she said, hiking her pants back up and buttoning them. "V-very...aware. But he's the Prince of Ludia. We can't kill someone like him without causing more trouble!"

"We're already wanted by this entire world, Fai'en!"

"It doesn't matter, Ryu, I said don't kill him!"

Ryu's glare cut through her. Vahn moaned in pain underneath him. "Why do you have sympathy for this man after all he has done to you?'!"

She swallowed hard. She wanted to kill Vahn, oh goddess did she want Ryu to slice him up into little pieces and she wanted to stomp and grind those pieces into the ground under her heel, but he wasn't AG or a bandit, he was royalty and a person, not a monster, and it was _wrong_, no matter how poor of an excuse of a man he was. "He was trying to do something horrible...but his intent wasn't to kill us," she said, clenching her fists at her sides. "...and I don't want to be any more of a murderer than I already am." Goddess, it all sounded so _stupid._

The dragon roared in frustration and retracted one of his blades. Some of the terror melted from Vahn's bruised mug. "Alright! _But,_" Ryu moved, lowering the other to the prince's loosened belt. "I won't kill him...but I _will_ make sure he doesn't come after you again." The razor sharp tip sliced through it and the top of his pants. Vahn paled. "How does cutting it off sound? Think he'll still be able to lust for you without it?"

"W-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-wait, wait, _wa~it,_ let's not be s-s-s-s-so hasty, m-m-my friend," The prince stuttered with an awkward smile through the blood streaming freely from his broken nose. "L-l-l-et's talk about this, I-I-I-I implore you!"

Nina crossed her arms, looking thoughtful, "You know, that doesn't sound too bad."

Ryu slid the blade down more, a mad grin forming.

"I'll g-g-g-g-g-g-give you _anything_," Vahn's voice rose three octaves higher. "I _swear_ I'll leave you alone! I-I-I-I-I'll give you money, anything, _please_! Just d-d-don't! I _need _that!"

Nina's hands went to her hips, "Annul our marriage as soon as possible! I don't want 'Ludias of Ludia' touching my name any longer!"

"Done! I p-p-p-promise!"

"And sign the treaty for Wyndia and Ludia to become allies. I want soldiers there to protect my sister at all costs. Make sure nothing happens to her, _ever_!"

"N-n-n-n-ot a problem!"

"Could do wit some mo' cash ya know," Gray added.

"M-m-my wallet's in the bag, help yourself! We're all friends here, aahahahahahahahaha-!"

Ryu brought the blade back up to Vahn's throat, cutting his ridiculous laugh short. "If I see you again, it's gone," he promised darkly, giving him a swift jab in his already blackened nose before getting off of him. "Go! Make use of your undeserved charity and get out of my sight!"

The prince scrambled to his feet, holding his pants together. He pulled his hood back over his head and stumbled towards his bag. "H-h-here!" he said, reaching in and getting out a gigantic roll of cash from it. Gray took it, seeing both Nina and Ryu were too disgusted to step anywhere near the man again.

Vahn glanced back at Nina once more, and fled down the stairs.

* * *

Back in their room, Nina and Ryu laid into each other.

"How come you didn't know it was him?"

"How come _you _didn't know it was him?'!"

"You're the one who's been around him more!"

"_You're a godsdamn dragon!_"

Gray stepped in the middle. "Oi, oi, evrythin's good now, 'aight folks? 'es gone!"

"Yeah thanks to _you,_" Nina said, shooting Ryu a glare. "If Gray wouldn't have come we'd both be..."

They shivered simultaneously.

"He didn't have that awful stink on him this time," Ryu protested, "I didn't know his scent underneath it."

He was right. Vahn hadn't been wearing his usual terrible cologne; most likely intentionally, "I knew something was off...but I didn't know exactly what..." Nina muttered.

"So what's goin' on with ya two? I heard that bro talkin' somethin' like ya feel what's done ta one anotha'?"

Ryu made a face and fell back on the bed. Nina searched her bag for another shirt, the one she had on smelled too much like that bastard. She would never forget his scent, _ever_. "No, he feels whatever is happening to me."

"How's that work?"

"We're cursed. His soul is trapped inside of me." Nina said, throwing on a slightly more fitting blue tunic. "It's the 'bad' thing I was talking about last night." She held up the other shirt and ignited it with a flare from her hand.

"That's some pretty heavy stuff there," Gray whistled, then made a face. "That prince ain't eva...ya kno'...gone thru with what 'e was 'bout ta-"

"_No!_" Nina and Ryu both interrupted in horror.

Gray laughed loudly, "Good! Glad for ya, Ryu!"

The Wyndian snorted. Ryu slammed his fists down on the mattress. "Why couldn't I break it?'!" Gray and Nina turned to him. "I should have been able to break out of that bastard's magic!"

Nina sighed, "I told you before, Vahn's one of the most powerful sorcerers in the eastern kingdoms! You're fortunate he's been so preoccupied with me every time he's come against us!"

Ryu shook his head sharply with a growl.

"Tha lady's right," Gray said, " 'e's a sorta legend wit tha humans."

_That dummy trapped me in a maze! I couldn't break free of it either, Master Ryu, so don't be angry! _came Merybel's shrill voice.

Gray's one blue eye traced the dark iron covering his arm. "Geez, I really whalloped tha Prince o' Ludia didn't I? Now I prob'ly _should_ be on tha run wit y'all now," he winced.

"We should've killed him," growled Ryu from the bed. "I'm killing him next time, no matter what anyone says!"

"Why don't you understand?'!" cried Nina, stomping angrily, "Isabella is still in Wyndia! I'm the Angel of Death, but still a _Wyndian. _Ludia would find out Vahn was dead, see that I was a part of it -don't say I wouldn't get in trouble because it was done by you, for all anyone knows, I control the 'demon as black as night'- and they would hold Wyndia responsible! The world has been worried about Isabella's wings from the moment she was born...and now that's it's happened to me...what's stopping them from thinking it'll happen to her too?'! She needs protection!"

"There be rumors ya kno'," Gray said. Nina's wide eyes snapped to him. "That 'er wings is already black, but, I mean theys jus' rumors ya kno'" he finished quickly. "I ain't heard o' no one tryin' ta folla through with no 'sassinations or nothin'. It seems theys all scared-a the show ya put on durin' ya ex'cution."

"See?'!" she cried, arms in the air. "Now I'm glad I made him promise to send guards to look after her!"

Ryu sat up, "Do you really think he's going to do what you ask? Are you honestly _that_ dense?"

"He has to!" she cried stubbornly.

"Most would promise a lot of nonsense if they were in his position!"

She sucked in her cheeks, hot tears brimming, "Are you trying to make me go crazy worrying about my sister, Ryu? It that what you _want_?" she cried, "For once I think I do something right...I didn't murder him like I did Ivory...and I found protection for Izzie..."

Gray nearly fell out of his chair, "W-wait, wait a minute. Ya'll killed _Ivory_?'! As in _AG_ Ivory?'!"

"Fai'en did. It was the only intelligent decision she's ever made since I've known her," Ryu grumbled.

That was it. The Wyndian stepped forward and brought her hand hard across Ryu's face. Stunned, he looked up at her. "You're a _horrible _person, Ryu Braxton!" she screamed. Gray stared. She grabbed a blanket from the bed out from under the dragon's legs and their sack of clothes, and made a pallet for herself in the opposite corner of the room. She curled up in it and pulled the cover tight over her head. Ryu muttered something angrily and let his body flop back onto the bed.

The woren smiled, swinging his legs up onto the table and leaning back in his chair.

It didn't seem like there was going to be a dull moment with these two.

* * *

Prince Vahn was livid.

Not only was his pride as broken as his beautiful nose, but Sophia mentioned while she patched him up, "It may not ever be the same again, but hey, it'll have character!"

The dragon had to die. He had to be the source of whatever animal-like behavior was plaguing Nina now. If he died, maybe her wings would revert to white, and he could threaten to invade Wyndia and kill her beloved sister if she wasn't made to continue being married to him...

"You're crazy you know, going after the Angel of Death like that. Does your country know what you're doing?" Sophia asked, pulling the last stitch through a split above his eyebrow.

The woren would die next. Zeth had reported to Jaxx he was struck by a woren's arrow, but Vahn was so entranced by the feel of the girl's silky skin, he hadn't thought to look out for him.

"Ah, of course they don't know. Why else would you come to me?"

Why would a random woren want to become friends with them? It didn't make sense! _He had her in his hands!_ If that overgrown alley cat hadn't have been there!

He thought of the Wyndian held against her will on that pub's hallway floor, her beautiful, contemptuous eyes filled with the raw fear that lit his loins on fire.

"She really must be somethin' huh, to make you this obsess-"

Vahn grabbed the black market doctor and pulled her onto the hospital bed with him. He took her glasses off of her flushed face and kissed her. She grabbed onto the back of his head and kissed him back. "I'm going to call you Nina," he said, ripping her shirt open. Buttons snapped and bounced onto the floor. "Don't complain about it."

* * *

"Why must he always be so damn insensitive?'!" Nina cried to Ryu's soul when she finally drowned Merybel's threats out enough to fall asleep.

Pale yellow peered at her over his massive cloak collar as he sat across from her on the hill of an endlessly wide, grassy green plain. Picture perfect cloud filled blue skies stretched above them. He reached up and pushed back windblown hair.

Nina pulled flowers out of the ground, meticulously tearing off each and every petal and leaf in frustration. "I can't do it, getting along with him is like trying to befriend a rabid panther! The gain hardly outweighs the trials- I'm through, I'm just through!"

"I believe you are misreading. He is only trying to make you aware of how the scum of this world-"

"What's to misread?'!" she looked up incredulously. "He's a jerk! He never misses a chance to take a shot at me!" She sniffed. Embarrassed tears decorated her arm. "Wh-what if I have to spend the rest of my life with him? What if Drogen doesn't exist and I'm stuck with a guy that wants to 'bash my face until it's unrecognizable' just because I look like a relative that's been dead for Goddessdamned hundreds of years?'!"

Young Ryu grew silent. Nina stared at his calculating face through the blur of her tears and the waving navy of his thick bangs.

"It's not fair..." she muttered. "Nothing in my life is ever fair!"

"I want to show you something." The boy lowered his head and closed his eyes.

The air stilled. Nina watched in awe, darkness spill like black ink over the sky above them. Stone gray devoured the lush green of the plains in one tremendous wave, and then the grass _was _stone, and the sky was the ceiling and walls of a room. It was a castle -that much Nina could tell- and while it didn't seem to be Drogen, it struck an oddly familiar chord.

"You recognize Wyndia, Fai'en" young Ryu explained. "Some five hundred years ago."

"Wow, you're right," Nina breathed looking around again. The architecture was stone instead of marble, but was essentially the same. She found herself in a bedroom that could almost have been a twin of hers, if not for the crimson/gold décor. It was night time, Nina could see the dark, starry sky through wide open doors leading out onto a balcony. Soft light flickered from torches in every corner. She brought her eyes back to the boy in front of her; they were both sitting on a crimson rug with a golden Wyndian crest woven into the middle. "Why bring me here?" she asked.

"Shh," the boy touched fingers to his lips.

There was a rustling behind Nina. She turned to a ceiling tall canopy bed. Through sheer crimson sheets hanging over its sides, she spotted a man sitting hunched over on the edge of the mattress, his long haired head cradled in his gauntlets. There was no mistake it was Ryu. A skin tight black sleeveless number dressed his torso, the bottom half of him was in heavy plated armor. Spiked elbows rested on his knees.

"Don't look so depressed...You did _very _well for me today, my little weapon," an overly sweet female voice dripped in perfect ancient Wyndian. Nina gasped when she saw herself morph out of the shadowy foyer into the torchlight.

She had seen plenty paintings of the second princess, and knew she was beautiful, but none she remembered did her features justice. At first glance, she could understand why someone could mistake her for this woman, but if your gaze lingered longer, you would notice the much curvier body, the more refined face -the high cheek bones, the regal sophistication written all over it- the apparent difference in how they carried themselves...

She was standing with one hip jutted out in a negligee so revealing, it embarrassed Nina to look at it.

Ryu didn't pay any notice. The second princess swung her hips and large white wings gracefully as she walked towards him. She crossed her legs and sat down on the bed, encircling him with one of the wings and running a hand across his shoulders. "I know how you _despise_ killing your own kind, but we had too! They had a whole village hidden away plotting against me..." Pale arms slid around his neck. "But we got rid of them, didn't we?" Voluptuous body parts pressed against his back. "You'll do anything for me, won't you, Ryu?" She asked, tracing his squared jaw with a finger. She leaned down, whispered something inaudible in his ear. His head rose and the gauntlets clasped underneath his chin. He was a brooding statue, staring hard at the wall in front of him.

The green-eyed -another difference between the princesses- woman pushed his long hair back behind his shoulders. "You're not so little anymore, are you, dragon boy..." She felt down one of his tensed, tanned arms, to his clasped hands, taking one in hers and unhooking the armor covering it. Nina's blush intensified when the princess placed it on one of her halfway exposed breasts. His jaw hardened even more; still he did not look away from that wall. "All grown up...," she purred, "...becoming a man before my eyes..."

He snatched his hand away from her. "Like last night, the night before and the night before that," growled his deep voice darkly, "I do not wish to know you that way."

Nyna the second giggled, "I own you, Ryu," she cooed, rubbing his chest. "I say kill, you say: who? I say destroy, you say: what target?" She straddled his lap, put both hands on the sides of his face, bringing her lips inches from his, "I say pleasure me, and you say yes, My Mistress,...or I might be inclined to let the guards do what they wish to Ana-"

A hand grasped her throat. Her hands flew to his wrist. "For the last time, you will get _nothing_ from me, and you will _never _speak Ana's name again, do you hear me?'!" he snarled through bared fangs, his dark fingers digging dents into her white skin.

Nyna's hands flashed bright green, and Ryu's grip suddenly slacked. He fell back limp onto the bed. The princess got off of him and stood glaring at his snoring form, rubbing at her neck. "Kiss your sister's innocence goodbye, fool!" she screamed, "You have no one else but _yourself_ to blame for this!" She wrapped a robe around herself and stormed out of the room.

Nina jumped up and ran to Ryu's sleeping body. His face was the same as when she found him underneath Wyndia. "Does he wake up?'!" she cried to little Ryu. "We have to try and wake him up! If we don't Ana will..."

The boy shook his head. "You know this has all happened already and that you can't change a thing, Fai'en..."

"But-!" she looked to the doorway. "His sister...does she?"

With a nod, young Ryu snapped his fingers, and they were in Wyndia's dungeon, watching a blood drenched older Ryu furiously hugging a beaten, dirty, chained up teenage blue haired girl. Around him, the dismembered bodies of six Wyndian soldiers were strewn about in a crimson sea. "I'm sorry, Ana...I'm so sorry!" he fiercely repeated in Draconian into her torn clothes. Patches of scales shined, both of her eyes were blackened. Blood caked bruises from where the cuffs around her wrists and ankles had been pulled and held to the limit.

_"Maybe I don't approve of that sort of violence," _Nina remembered with a heavy heart.

Ana smiled weakly at Ryu, looking beautiful in the torchlight even still. "It is not your fault, drak'nei...there is no reason for your apology."

He let go of her and a bone blade ripped out of his left arm. He turned the tip on himself. "She keeps saying my face is pleasing to view...I'll make sure she never thinks so again!"

Ana gasped, "Don't! Please!"

Blood beaded on his cheek as the tip sunk in. "I will! It is the only way to protect you!"

"Don't!" New tears created fresh trails through the dirt on her face, "Yours is the only familiar face I see in this Ladon-forsaken place...please, please don't take that away from me! I couldn't bear to not recognize you anymore!"

Slowly, reluctantly, he lowered the blade, dropping to his knees beside her on cold, hard stone, "I _will_ get you out of this hell," he promised, clenching his fist so hard, his nails drew blood in his palm, "and I'll kill her for what she's done to us!"

Blackness took over Nina's vision. She blinked, and she was back in the fields sitting in the grass with young Ryu. "I..." she trailed off. Breezes made the tears freezing cold against her cheeks. "She still kills her after all of that...?"

Little Ryu nodded solemnly.

She finally fully understood the hate. If Ryu had resembled someone that had done things like that to Isabella...

Nina dove forward, and threw her arms around the little boy.

* * *

Ryu awoke to something wet on his bare back.

His eyes slowly opened, his nostrils flared. He could feel something rubbing back and forth on his skin, sobbing quietly as it lay against him on the bed.

"'m sorry, Ryu..." He heard Nina whisper in a tiny voice behind him. One of her arms reached around to hug him fiercely. "I know you know the pain of worrying about someone important to you, and not being able to do anything about it..."

His jaw hardened.

"...so you have to understand...I can't help being worried..."

He said nothing. The arm hugged him tighter.

"...It was wrong to hit you...you were only trying to make me see reality. I'm such a stubborn fool... Can you forgive me? I don't want to fight with you any longer..."

_If you aren't going to speak, at least show her you can. _

Without looking back, he snorted and pulled her arm off of him. Nina opened her mouth to protest its return, but held her tongue when she felt him give it a brief, meaningful squeeze before he let go.

The Wyndian smiled gently, pressing both hands alongside her forehead against his warm skin.

"Thank you..." she whispered.

* * *

**A/N:** This took forever b/c it literally took this long to get someone to look over it for me lol... More about Ryu's past! And don't worry, Nina will be fighting a LOT very soon. As always, thx for all the love =)


	19. Chapter 18

****WARNING** **And I said the last chapter was creepy...

For real, don't say I didn't warn you.

**Chapter Eighteen**

_Ravage? Let's Show Them the Real Meaning of That Word_

"Get lost, you idiot, I'm tired of looking at you!"

_Crash! Boom!_

Lissa squeezed her eyes shut, pulled her covers tight over her head.

"It's only been two days, Chas! He's not ready to leave yet and that's final!"

"Stop calling me _Chas_!"

_Crash! Shatter!_

They were fighting again, and this time Chasta had found things to throw.

Since the moment they stepped foot into the little shack two days ago, Chasta and Bryan had non-stop been at each other's throats. Donovan the horse was showing signs of improvement, thanks to the low country veterinarian boy's help, however was still in no shape to take the trek they needed it to take yet, and it infuriated Chasta to no end. She wanted to leave _now _and _now _was all she was going to settle for.

Lissa cautiously peeked out; she didn't want to get hit by anything. Bryan made a rude hand gesture at Chasta, turned and stormed outside. Chasta grabbed a horseshoe off of the wall and threw it after him out the doorway. It barely missed his head. "That's right, you walk away! That's just what I wanted!" she screamed. He turned back. Another gesture. Chasta slammed the door, the entire shack swayed. A grungy dog sleeping on a pile of straw in the corner started. Chasta gave it a swift kick. "Why the _hell _do I stress myself out dealing with _humans_, huh?" she cried throwing up her arms. Lissa closed her peephole, but not before she saw Chasta swivel her way. The Wyndian tore the covers off of her. "Wake up, bareback!"

Lissa sat up quickly, pursing her lips. "Bareback" was a derogatory term Wyndian's sometimes used for humans. Chasta had taken a shine to it. "I'm awake!" she made herself chirp. It was better not to put her in a worse mood.

The brunette crossed her arms, shifted her weight to one foot. "Change into a rat," she sneered.

Lissa sighed. A rat? A furry, gross, disease ridden _rat_? Yesterday it was a cat, and while Lissa was proud of the fact she was able to copy animals as well with this contraption on her arm, she didn't enjoy getting chased around the yard by the dog. Her eyes cut to the matted haired mutt. It was backed up into its corner whimpering, staring frightfully up at Chasta. "Let's go! I don't have all day!" Chasta barked.

The blonde lowered her head and made herself concentrate on the tiny, wretched things. Their coarse, ugly, brownish/gray fur, their usually torn little ears, their curling, worm-like tails... Her wrist jerked with the shock her amplifier emitted, and the world suddenly enlarged. Chasta became a grinning giant and Lissa was acutely aware she was now wearing all of that ugly fur.

Chasta scooped her up. "Wow, you're so _good _at this," she commended, petting the top of Lissa's furry head with her finger. "Even down to their hideous beady little eyes!" Lissa wondered what would happen if she bit into that annoying scrunched up nose.

_Beep, Beep-bloop!_

Both Chasta and the rat looked down. Lissa's bag was beeping, something inside was vibrating against the wooden floor. "Someone's calling your communicator?" Lissa leaped from her hand and quickly transformed into Vahn's likeness on the way down. She dove her hand into the bag, pulled out the beeping box. Her pale eyes widened when she looked down at it. She took a deep breath, ran a hand over her hair. "Wait, is that Vahn?'! That's Vahn isn't it?" Chasta cried, leaning over. She saw the prince's name flash across the screen and grabbed onto Lissa's shirt, "You mean to tell me you've been able to get in contact with him this whole time?'!"

Lissa shook Vahn's head sharply. "No, you don't understand!" she said in his voice. "I have no way to call him, but n-nothing's stopping him from communicating with me!"

Chasta snorted and let her go. Lissa adjusted her clothes. "Whatever, just answer it! Talk him into getting us out of this goddess forsaken place!"

Lissa stared down at the communicator, heart pounding. She bit her lip, shook her head again. "I-I can't do it! I-I'm scared! I'm supposed to be in Ludia right now!"

Chasta bent down. "_Answer it!_" she snarled.

"_Fine!_" Lissa sniffed. Why was everyone always yelling at her? She pressed the button to answer with a trembling finger.

Vahn filled the screen. Lissa gasped and covered her mouth. "V-vahn y-your _nose_! What _happened _to you?'!"

"Lissa? Is that you? Geez..." The prince closed bruised eyes and shook his head with his hand on his forehead. "If you must know, apprehending the Angel is proving to be a more difficult task than I expected. I was actually meaning to contact Zeth for help, but my finger must have slipped on my list. This damn medication Sophia has me on..."

"Ahh, well I'll let you go so you can call him!" Lissa blurted quickly, sweat beading on her forehead. Chasta reached for the box, Lissa pushed her back.

Vahn's eyes opened, Lissa flashed a nervous smile. He cocked his head and squinted past her. "Doll, where exactly _are _you? No wall in my castle looks like that..."

The sweat poured down. "I-I-I...Um..."

Chasta snatched the communicator from her. "Hello there, Prince Vahn!" she smiled into the focusing lens. "It's _very_ nice to meet you. I'm Chasta and I borrowed your girl here to because I needed to find you. I have very important business to I would like to discuss."

Vahn's smile staled, his lips thinned. "Well...Chasta, I really needed her to stay in Ludia, you see. The elders do not tolerate me leaving the country without notifying them."

Chasta playfully bit on the end of one of her fingers. "But her talent is oh so useful, don't you think? It's wasted all the way out there."

His expression didn't change, though she saw his eyes were staring more intently, "I don't think you understand-"

"What if I told you with hers and your help, I can guarantee you your angel?"

He paused. "And just how would you manage to do that, Miss?"

She licked her lips, "I believe it would be much better discussed in person."

"Hmm," he cocked his head again, "I've seen you before, haven't I? You were with my wife before I took her from Wyndia. She made a big deal about being separated from you. Are you a friend of hers?"

"Her closest one."

Another pause. "Why would you help me then, love?"

She pushed her long, loose hair behind her shoulders. "I have my reasons. Just know that I want nothing more than to see you happily reunited with your wife."

He smirked, leaned closer, nibbling on the bait hanging from the hook she dangled in front of him, "I suppose I might have a _few_ moments to spare. Give me your location."

Chasta explained where they were as best she could. He promised he would have them out in no time. She squealed for joy. "_Finally, _no more sleeping on straw!"

Lissa made a face. _She _was the one that had been sleeping on straw. Chasta had used Bryan's sleeping bag the entire time.

"Now, if this turns out to be a waste of my time, I _will_ have your head," Vahn said sweetly. "This a _very_ important matter to me."

Chasta smiled deviously back, "Believe me, you're going to _love _what I have to say."

Vahn settled his chin on interlocked fingers. "Well Chasta," he said, his spreading to become equally as mischievous, "I do look forward to meeting you."

* * *

Zeth switched off his communicator and leaned back against the many bright pink fluffy pillows lining the headboard of the gigantic bed he was lounging on. His dark circled, black eyes traced woodwork of nude women caressing each other on the ceiling through his long black bangs. Muffled laughs and loud music pulsed against the walls. He reached over to a glass of wine sitting on his bedside table, raised it to his lips. A knock sounded at his door. "Are you ready for us, Mr. Alabaster?" came a young girl's voice from the other side. Zeth swallowed and gave Lyut control.

Lyut loved to frequent brothels -he was the only one of the three interested in any female companionship- and while he was a source of apprehension to most of the girls he came in contact with in these places, he paid them handsomely for their services, so much in fact, they usually forgot the moment the zenny hit their hands how many of their girls were broken in the process.

That, and who would dare oppose the AG?

_I worry about our future engagement with the prince, _Sesimhan said to Zeth when he joined him in the depths of his consciousness. _He seems determined to overlook the fact this girl is a danger to the entire world. I don't care how docile she looks, you saw those scales, and I'm sure you felt that bone go through your shoulder. No matter how you look at it, she's dangerous! _

Zeth vaguely watched himself playing with the women. It wasn't that he didn't find them attractive, or that seeing them nude didn't stir any emotions, he just didn't deal well with things he didn't understand. Blades he could understand. Blood he could comprehend. Battle was all he knew, all he ever cared about. _He's paying more to keep her alive than Wyndia is to kill her, _he said simply in his monotone voice, _A lot more._

_Jaxx sent us to kill her._

_Jaxx also really loves z_.

Sesimhan sighed, _The woren and the dragon. __That is what this boils down to._

"Ya damn right I want dat damn cat!" Lyut roared, grabbing onto one of the girl's arms in his excitement. She cried out as he twisted it behind her back. He yelled for her to shut up.

_You two realize that the three of us are still only one person, _said Sesimhan.

"Dats wat yer brain's fo', bro! Yous da smart one! Figger out a way ta fight 'em all!" The girl started screaming at Lyut to let her go. He grabbed her chin and snapped her neck. The other girls gasped as her body slumped over them. "But dat woren gonna pay hard fo attackin' when our backs was turned!" Lyut glared down, the girls froze. "Whaddya doin'? Git busy or join 'er, dig?" Trembling, they reluctantly pushed their dead friend out of the way and continued.

Zeth stared at their frightened faces. He didn't blame the woren for attacking his back, he blamed himself for letting it happen. Even if the others were in control it was still his body. He had the final say every time. He only wanted to prove it impossible to do again. But the dragon...

He thought of him popping in and out of the shadows faster than a normal human's eye could catch with his fangs bared like the monster he was, using those blades on his arms like he had been born swinging them. Zeth found himself smiling. He had only had a handful of _real _fights in his lifetime. He wanted nothing more than for this creature to be another able to push him to his limit, only then did he ever feel truly alive. _Ludias' plan gives us a good advantage, _he said absently.

Sesimhan sighed louder, _Sex and fighting, is that all either one of you think about?_

Lyut howled laughter, both girls flinched. "Yer damn right!" he cried with a wild look in his eyes. His hand whipped back to a sheath attached to his belt. He grinned, pulled out a dagger. The girls scrambled back off of the bed. "I wanna see some blood..." he raised it, ran his tongue over it. "Who be first, huh?"

One of the girls waved her arms in front of her erratically, shaking her head back and forth. "Listen mista, I knows you AG an you pay good, but it ain't worth it!" The other nodded fiercely. "I'm only seventeen! I don't want to die like this!" she cried, grabbing her friend's hand and taking off with her out of the room. Lyut chucked his dagger. It _thunked _into the slamming door.

"Stupid whores!" he cursed, falling back against the bed. He folded his arms behind his head, stared back up at the ceiling. The dead girl was still laying across the bottom of the bed, he kicked her to the floor. "Dis place ain't no good. Dese chickies don't know howda play," he grumbled to the inhabitants inside of his mind. Then after a thought, smiled. "Da Angel gotta have a thicka skin den dese fools, right? Maybe when Vahn's thru wit 'er 'e'll let us have a turn."

_You must be joking._

"Eh Ses, you ain't never no fun. Whadda 'bout ya, Z? Whatcha think? She cute, ain't she?"

Zeth had made up his mind. The dragon was their highest priority.

Lyut shrugged, at least he'd get to see blood. "'You's da bowse."

Crimson eyes closed, opened back up black. Zeth reached for the wine at his bedside again, glanced out of his window at the orange sun setting in the distance.

Just a few more hours.

* * *

"An' I said ta tha guy, 'Ya got a prob'lim, fool? Cuz my fist can deal wit this right now!' An' he _ran!_ Cryin', might I add. Can ya believe it, bro? Big ol' grassrunna too, wit spikes on 'is damn gloves, runnin' like a girl!" Gray's booming laughter filled the forest air.

Ryu's followed, "You _have _seen yourself, right?"

The woren shrugged, "Yea, an' ya kno', I guess it really don't make no diff'rence, huh? You's half tha size o' me, but I'd be runnin' like a girl too if ya decided ta sho' yo' fangs!"

"Would you scream too?" asked Ryu, grinning.

"Ya kno' it!"

They both burst at the seams.

Nina tailed them at a slower pace, listening to the birds chirping in the trees above, watching three squirrels playing amongst the branches spreading out into the dimming, purple evening sky, trying hard not to think about how she was going to have to sleep outside, _again_. Gray's map showed a lake a few miles from Chamba on the edges of the desert and northern forest lands, and he and Ryu decided it would be the best place for them to stay the night before starting their trek through Shyde.

She sighed quietly to herself when her furry wildlife entertainment took their antics out of sight. Bored eyes went down, traveled the reddish, grass splotched earth before her out to Ryu's heavy black boots, up the back of his pants, his hooded shirt, to the back of his head as it went back in another guffaw. There was a tiny nervous pang in the pit of her stomach when he smiled and took a playful slap on the back from Gray. She hadn't said much to him since he had woken her up to leave Chamba a few hours ago. He had done it in a...civilized manner.

She wasn't sure how to take that.

_Geez, could you stare at Master any more? _Merybel commented loudly from the jewel. Ryu turned around.

Nina jerked to a stop, flushing. "I-I..."

"Oi, I see tha lake!" Gray cried at the perfect moment. Nina exhaled. Merybel laughed her annoying little cackle. The Wyndian wanted to throw the gem into the lake and let it sink to the bottom to get stuck in silt forever.

They picked a clear spot on the shore and started camp. Vahn's cash was a blessing, Nina thought, rolling out a puffy sleeping bag she took from her backpack. Sleeping on the ground was sleeping on the ground, but to at least have some cushioning between her and it was going to be nice for a change. Ryu and Gray set out theirs near hers and the dragon started a fire at the foot of them. Afterward, Ryu left to hunt for dinner. Gray stood watch over Nina.

She got out small pot from her bag and filled it with water from the lake. The cash also bought them luxuries like small cooking utensils, tea bags and some condiments. It was funny, she thought, setting the pot on the campfire and sitting back down on her sleeping bag, a month or so ago she wouldn't have thought twice about the privilege of being able to enjoy a cup of tea. She stared at a ring of tiny bubbles already forming around the pot's black bottom.

The grass shuffled beside her. She became aware of a presence. "A zenny fo' yo thoughts, girlie?"

Nina caught a coin Gray flipped down at her and leaned forward, placing her elbows on her knees and cupping her chin in her hands. "It's nothing, really."

Gray grinned, "Now theys ain't a soul in Chamba that-a tell ya I don't know what I'm talkin' 'bout 'ere, 'aight? I pride myself on bein' pret'ty good at figgerin' out ya lady types, an' I know when somethin's botherin' one, ya'll get that same face." He plopped down, his long, gray and black striped tail waved behind him. "So come on. It may not lookit, but ol' Gray's prime at listenin' ta woes."

She glanced over at him. Despise his menacing size and armor, Gray radiated friendliness. There was something infectious about his warm smile that almost made her feel she had to have been caught in a spell to feel this calm around him. She was surprised at the urge she had to spill everything.

Then again, when was the last time someone had actually been interested in anything she had to say?

"Okay, so it's everything," she shrugged, giving in, "But I wouldn't know where to start telling you about it."

"Ya worried about tha AG, ain't ya?"

Her bright red head bobbed. "The AG, my sister, Vahn, Ryu...you name it, it's probably chiseling at the ulcer in my stomach."

Gray leaned back on his hands. "I only kno' 'bout a few o' tha cats in tha AG. Tha ones that get known in tha public, anyway. I can tell ya all I kno' if it helps ya sleep any."

Nina gently bit down on the inside of her cheek. "I should've listened to Ethan when he would talk about them," she muttered to herself, "Why didn't I _listen?_" Instead of pay attention to his handsome face, his powerful arms...

"Ethan?"

Bubbles rose and broke the surface of the water, but the pot wasn't boiling quite yet. "He's the Wyndian with the Assassin's Guild that fought Zeth. My royal guardian. My..." she paused and swallowed, found she couldn't say the word "friend".

Gray whistled. "Ya dun say? How'd Wyndia get away wit 'aving theys royal guard'n dealin' so much wit those bros?"

"Tradition. For centuries, Ethan's family has been trained by the AG to become the Wynlan family's protectors."

"Itn't that a lil' steep jus ta be a royal guard?"

Drops of water hissed on the campfire as it bubbled out of the pot. She took it off of the fire and carefully poured half the boiling liquid into a mug. "I don't think so. Assassins were after my father all the time, or well...in the last few years at least."

One of Gray's furry eyebrows raised. "Tha King a' Wyndia in that much demand?"

Nina nodded, dipped a bag of tea into her mug. "Ever since Isabella was born."

"Wat 'bout befo'? Back in tha day?"

She shrugged. "I never thought about it."

Gray cocked his head, "I bet it's 'cause a' tha Black Wings in gen'ral. Theys knew it might happen, so theys hadta train someone wit tha big boys a deal wit it when an' if did."

Nina stopped dipping. It made sense. Heartbreaking as it was to think Ethan was gone training that long to be hers or Isabella's executioner, it made perfect sense. She wondered if they had him in Wyndia now, waiting for the slightest change in her little sister's wings so he could take one swipe of his swords and- Her grip on the mug tightened.

"I hafta ask ya, dollface, how in tha _hell _didya kill Ivory?"

"Luck," Nina said softly. "And these." She murmured a few ancient Wyndian words, and her light sprite popped into existence. It raced circles around her head, jingling excitedly that it missed her. Her frost sprite appeared on her shoulder, sitting with her blue legs crossed thin wings shimmering in the firelight.

Gray's blue eye widened. "Ya can talk ta sprites?"

"I owe them my life," Nina said, taking her finger and moving it in the air for her light sprite to chase. The ice sprite's giggles were tiny bells in the wind.

"Even tha leada of tha shamans can't casually call on 'em!"

Nina shrugged. "I've always been able to."

"I'm imp'ressed, girlie, that's fo' damn sho'," Gray commended with a slight bow of his head, "Fo' killin' that crazy broad too."

The tea was too hot to drink; it burned Nina's tongue. She hoped Ryu wouldn't be angry about it. "I didn't have a choice. It was that, or Ryu was going to die."

Gray looked up into the sky, were the stars were becoming more predominant. "I r'ly dun kno' what ta think 'bout ya guys. Y'all's fightin', but then 'e's still callin' ya by that pet name. What's it again?"

Nina laughed. "'Fai'en?' Oh no, no that is not a pet name. I don't think he would be into that sort of thing. It means...well he's basically calling me 'Wyndian' in dragon language."

"'e don't use yo' name? That's sorta rude, dontcha think?"

Nina blew on the tea and tried another sip. Maybe before, she would have been angry Ryu was blatantly disrespecting her by not ever calling her by name, but after seeing what his soul had to show her... "It's alright, really. The Wyndians did some unspeakable things to him in his day, so I understand. I mean he was sealed underneath my castle for five hundred years by them."

"Five hunnard years?'!"

Another sip, followed by a nod. "The world he knew is gone, everyone he knew is probably gone, and he can never get any of it back all because of the 'Fai'en's'," she said softly, "Being forced into such an intimate connection with one, has to be torture..."

"He's takin ya ta Drogen ta try an' fix it?"

Nina nodded, "He believes it's the only place we'll have hope of finding dragons, _if _there are any still left alive."

"That's gonna be a long shot, girlie, unless anotha got lucky an got sealed like bro. Tha last dragon sightin' was doc'umented some four hunnard years ago."

"I know, but what other choice is there? We both don't want to accept staying like this forever!" She brought her knees up and hugged them, had a frightening thought. "Though now that I think about it, I'm not so sure my other scenario is much better."

"An' what's that?"

"We _think _once the curse is lifted, my wings will go back white, and if they do, it shouldn't be a problem for me to return to Wyndia," her chin settled between her kneecaps. "But...then I'll be back at square one again if they...," she shuddered, "make me stay married to that creep."

Gray picked up a rock and chucked it into the lake. "Arranged marriages be tha devil, girlie, believes me."

"I hate it! I don't understand...just because of politics, I can't marry for love? I will never _ever _love that sick, twisted slime of a man!" she growled through gritted teeth.

"Funny how some cats think bein' born inta position be a lucky fate."

"I don't care if it sounds selfish, but I truly wish I would have been born a peasant... I want to fall in love with the boy next door because he has beautiful eyes and makes me laugh, not because his father is a land owner with a good reputation. For once in my life, I want to do what I want to do, act how I want to act, say what I want to say..." her voice shook. "I don't want to be the Princess of Wyndia or the Queen of Ludia, or _any _title! I just want to be Nina!"

"Well out in 'dese woods, 'dere ain't gonna be no use fo' no Princess, so as far as I'm concerned...you's just Nina, nuthin' else."

She took a deep breath, exhaled it slowly, turned to meet his smile. It was really nice. "That's...thank you, Gray."

"Well, it ain't my fav'rite thing, seein' pretty ladies sad."

She sniffed. "It's something I've accepted as of late. I'm always sad, always worried. I can't help it."

"Well ya need ta cheer up! Ya got me an tha dragon!" Gray said, giving a thumbs up, "We ain't gonna let nuthin' happen ta ya!"

Nina smiled gently, took a sip of tea.

She really hoped he was right.

* * *

Ryu stood behind a tree downwind of the girl's dragon nose with a dead buck around his shoulders, listening to her and the woren talk. He'd taken a liking to Gray, but he still wasn't one hundred percent sure about trusting him, as he never was with anyone he first met. It was a test, to leave him alone with the girl.

The buck on his back was small because he didn't feel comfortable enough in Nina's survival skills to take his eyes off her for more than a moment, so he had grabbed the first thing he saw. If only she had soaked up more of the knowledge he had given her when they sparred in the faerie realm, things would be a hell of a lot easier. He knew she _could _do all of the things he taught her, but the moment danger met her face to face, she choked.

He had to break her of this.

_Without breaking bones, I hope. That business with our necks was beyond unnecessary._

Ryu smirked. He had enjoyed doing that. He'd pictured that witch on the ground in place of Nina, begging not to be killed, and it had come so easy...

_I'm serious! Don't you dare think about- H-hey, HEY! Stop! I don't wish to be shown these thoughts, Ryu!'! _Nina's soul sighed. _That was uncalled for. Why would you think about tearing her throat out again?_

His smirk widened as he conjured up a gruesome thought of-

His ears pricked. Nina was speaking of him.

"The world he knew is gone, everyone he knew is probably gone, and he can never get any of it back all because of the 'Fai'en's'," He watched her quickly wipe tears on the back of her hand. "Being forced into such an intimate connection with one, has to be torture..."

_Look, something nice about you, relayed in a meaningful, mature manner._

"When your life is in constant danger, maturity comes," Ryu said indifferently, but he had to admit he'd noticed the girl was trying a whole lot less to be an annoyance today.

She knew something about Ana...she had to, the way she was talking before she fell asleep earlier. His jaw squared. Why the hell would his soul feel the need to tell her _anything_?

_If you want, I can show you some of her memories. It's only fair._

Ryu snorted, "And what would those be? Her being showered with gifts and love from every person in sight because she's the almighty princess?"

_Don't be so quick to judge, dragon, _the soul said softly, _I think you'd be surprised at what you'd find._

"Maybe later," said Ryu haughtily, "When I'm so bored I could die. Maybe then will something pertaining to her be worth my time."

_Your shell is hard, but inside-_

"Come off it," he growled, and stepped out from the trees into the camp.

* * *

Nina looked up to see Ryu walk out of the forest. He threw a deer from his shoulders to the ground, mumbling the word "dinner", and took his knife from his pants. The Wyndian quickly turned to the lake while he skinned it. They ate without much conversation other than Gray talking, and the woren and Nina went to sleep soon afterward. Ryu took the first patrol, silently stealthing the perimeter like the shadow he was, sniffing the ground as he prowled on all fours, cutting every direction with his sharp eyes.

Someone would come after them tonight, he was sure of it. They had made both the sick minded prince and the multi-bastard assassin sore, and he doubted either to be the type to let revenge simmer for long.

_You're going to kill them, aren't you? _Ryu didn't have to answer the question out loud, Nina's soul was more than aware of his intentions. _She won't be happy with that decision._

"Tch, and you think I care?"

_What she predicted would happen is inevitable, you know...Wyndia taking the blame for her or your actions._

"He will be unrecognizable when I'm done with him. Problem solved."

_That's..._

"Intelligent?"

_Morbid!_

His head suddenly whipped around.

That _smell!_

With a growl, Ryu bounded back into the woods, fast on the trail of the cologne that combusted his blood. His nails became talons clutching the ground for speed. Scales quivered beneath his skin, rage burned in his eyes.

_Ryu calm down! _Nina's soul cried at him desperately, _The Kaiser will- _

He didn't care. The source of the stink was too close. Revenge, was too close.

There was a small clearing ahead. Ryu leaped through the shadows onto the trunk of a massive tree that had fallen across it, padding silently down it's length to-

Immediately, both his eyes and nose whipped over to _him_, the narcissistic piece of shit he wanted rip apart, standing arrogantly out in the open in the middle of the clearing, one hand resting on his hip, the other nonchalantly twirling a piece of his long, blonde hair around it, wearing a smile Ryu knew was for him. The dragon dropped cautiously down off of the tree, pupils dilating as he kept his sights obsessively glued to his prey. Crouching low, he began to slowly circle. Vahn's heartbeat pounded in his ears. Fast, nervous. The bastard was scared.

Ryu's own rose in excitement.

_Ryu! You can't-_

**Rip out his throat and drown him in his own blood, half-breed, for the wrongs he has done to you.**

Red hot anger bubbling in his gut, exploded into into his veins with a rush jolting his entire body. Crimson scales rippled up his arms to spikes above his elbows. Fangs lengthened, more scales burst from his shoulders, traveled up his neck and the sides of his face. His now blood red talons dug deep into the ground as he tried desperately to grasp control of the rage the Kaiser sent torrenting inside of him.

**Don't you want to wipe the mockery from his filthy human face?**

More power surged through Ryu, filling his joints. tightening his muscles. The Kaiser was right! How dare he mock a dragon?'! The prince's rightful place was skewered beneath his claws!

_No Ryu! You've got to fight it! _Nina's soul cried, reaching out to grab him before he fell from the ledge of his sanity. _You can't let him control you!_

She missed.

The dragon roared and pounced.

* * *

Chasta tiptoed through the camp to Gray snoring loudly in his sleeping bag. She pointed her magic amplifier at him and smiled. The dragon was such an idiot, she laughed to herself quietly, listening to his roars in the distance. Her amplifier flashed green, and with a jerk of her wrist, she shot the cat with a paralyzing spell; he didn't make a sound. He was falling for such an obvious trap and leaving Nina here practically unguarded with a woren that slept like a rock! She stepped around the campfire and stood over the slumbering form of the Princess of Wyndia.

Even out in the woods, she was a rich, spoiled brat. Her sleeping bag was the most comfortable looking one Chasta had ever seen and she looked so godsdamned _peaceful _in it! In the middle of the godsdamned _woods! _She bit a bright red lip, clenched trembling hands at her side. Emerald eyes narrowed at Nina's bright red, trendy cut hair. How? With all this going on , she managed to get her hair done?'! Chasta pointed her amplifier down at her. Stupid little bitch, thinking her two good looking guards would keep her safe no matter what... Tiny bolts of green lighting arched around the device. "Hmph, safe?" she sneered, "You're far from it, sweetie."

* * *

Lissa stood, twirling a piece of Vahn's long, straight hair nervously around one of her fingers, tapping her foot anxiously on the ground.

She didn't like this plan at all.

Her job was to stand here and be Vahn to distract the dragon. She shivered. How was she supposed to distract a _dragon_? Weren't they _monsters_? Vahn's pale eyes cut back and forth. Nothing but trees. She tried hard to keep up the prince's cocky, confident persona.

She had never seen even a picture of a dragon before and Vahn said if she were to meet this one in the street, she would probably have never guessed it wasn't human. That was, until she looked into its cold, reptilian eyes.

The vengeful eyes of a true ancient beast.

The finger twirling her hair went to her mouth, she bit down on the nail. Her legs shook, her heart thundered in her ears. An _invisible, _cold, ancient beast, Vahn had also added.

Why oh why was she the only one with this talent?'!

Her eyes went for the hundredth time to the shin level grass waving in the wind all around her. He could come from anywhere at anytime...and even though Zeth was lurking, the dragon would probably attack faster than she could-

A roar from behind scrambled her thoughts. She whirled around, and barely saw what happened to her next.

One moment there was a cluster of grass shaking, the next, two wide, viscous eyes, a pair of fanged, open jaws, and an explosion of more pain than she could have ever imagined. Vaguely, she comprehended her body smacking the ground. Stars panned overhead, warm, red rain fell in sheets. She couldn't breathe, couldn't move. A tremendous weight crushed her underneath it. The eyes flashed before her vision again. The beast screamed.

And the world disappeared forever.

* * *

Crimson clouds of rage dissipated from Ryu's vision. It took a minute for his mind to connect back with his senses. His mouth was clamped onto flesh, blood was pouring into his mouth. He took a gulp -why waste?- and let go, expecting to be gratified by the look of anguish on the prince's girlish face...

He blinked.

The bloodied corpse he was on top of was not Vahn at all, but a young, blonde curly haired girl. Her wide blue eyes stared past him frozen in terror at the sky. Her mouth hung open almost as wide as her throat.

_Oh Gods, that poor girl..._Nina's soul gasped.

Ryu's scale covered forearm flew up in front of him just in time to stop the blade of a sword from slicing his own open. His other, deflected a dagger diving for his back. He grabbed his assailant's wrists, twisted them so he dropped his weapons, and tossed him over his shoulders.

Zeth landed in front of him, smirking. He reached behind to produce another sword and dagger from sheaths strapped onto his back. Twirling them excitedly, he strafed, blood colored eyes twinkling. "Dat girl's blood tasted good didn't it, bro?" he asked licking his lips. "I like takin' a sip too sometimes."

Bones blades ripped out of Ryu's arms, he fell back into the shadows.

"Ha! Bring it, monster!" Red eyes roared. "Hit me wit all ya got!"

* * *

Nina opened her eyes to see trees slowly passing by her, heard leaves crunching below.

She was moving? But she didn't _feel _like she was in motion...

She looked down. There was a thin, black jacketed arm around her, her feet were dragging the ground. Tiny orbs of green magic fluttered around her limbs. Paralysis spell orbs...

"H-Hey! What-?" she started, and her nose caught scents that made her eyes overflow.

Chasta's shampoo.

Chasta's favorite perfume.

Chasta's cigarettes.

_Chasta!_

She couldn't stop the smile spreading across her face. Her friend was here! Vahn or Zeth must've come and Chasta somehow, miraculously, swooped in to save her! It didn't make sense...but Nina didn't care! Chasta was here with her and that was all that mattered! She looked up, saw the flowing brunette ponytail she loved so much. "Chasta! Is that really you?'!" she gasped, "You have no idea how much I've missed you! _So _much has happened...I have to tell you it all-"

"Shut _up,_" Chasta snapped coldly, not bothering to look down.

Nina blinked. Confused, she pressed, "Chasta what are you doing here? How in the world did you find me? Did you come with Ethan?" her heart fluttered, "Did Ethan finally understand I wasn't dangerous and you guys've come to help me out?"

The glare she received from her friend glued her lips together. "What the hell do you not understand about _shut up_, Nina?'!"

They stopped and Chasta dropped her onto the ground. "She's all yours Vahn," she said, placing a heel on one of her shoulders and kicking it so she was on her back. Nina's stomach clung to her spine at the mention of that man's name, and when he leaned into view by Chasta, her heart crashed against her ribs. His nose was bandaged up, dark bruises lined the undersides of his eyes, yet still, he held his head arrogantly high.

She was a fool...she was always such a fool! Ryu was right, of _course _this slime ball would go back on his word!

But why? Why _Chasta?_

Vahn grasped his chin, shifted his weight to one leg while he studied Nina. Chasta tapped her foot impatiently. "Hey, I said she's all yours!"

Polished blonde brows knitted. "I understand we discussed a paralyzing enchant, but..."

"What about it?"

He thrust out his bottom lip, "I don't like it! She won't be able to feel anything I do!" he whined.

Chasta threw up her hands. "Are you serious?'!Who _cares?_'_! _We agreed this was the safest way to go! Do it while you have the chance and she can't fight back! You said the dragon feels what she feels. Now he won't know what we're doing to her!"

"But..." he pouted.

Chasta stomped over and grabbed the front of Nina's shirt. Not so gently, she yanked it off over her head. Nina's flooded eyes followed her black painted nails as she reached down and broke one of the straps on her brassiere. "Come on, Vahn," said her friend smooth as silk, "Don't you want her anyway?"

Vahn bit his lip, the look he was giving her brought bile into Nina's throat, "Oh _alright_..." he sighed and knelt down. His scent filled her nostrils. She panicked. What was he doing? Goddess she couldn't feel it! He could be doing anything!

"Stop it! Don't touch me! Get away from me _now_!"

The prince put his lips against her stomach, dragged them up over her ribcage. Nothing. He frowned. Last time, it nearly drove him insane to feel her squirm. He turned to Chasta with his lip out again. "I can't do this, she has to feel it!" He stood, glancing at the look of hatred on his wife's tear streaked face. She'd be making a different expression soon. "Tone down the magic so she's sluggish but can still feel. And set her up over there." He said, pointing to a tree. "I want her to see what I'm doing."

Chasta rolled her eyes and picked up Nina under her arms. She dragged her back to the trunk of the one he pointed to. "You're really here to save me, right?" Nina sobbed quietly to her friend as she positioned her against it. "You aren't really trying to help him do this...are you?"

Chasta snorted. She looked so_ haughty_. "You're such a little kid," she placed her hand on Nina's arm and took away some of the enchant. "Grit your teeth. Who knows? Maybe you'll like it." Amber went to the black device on her wrist sucking back some of spell's orbs. An amplifier? Of all the Goddess forsaken things a Wyndian could use...

Vahn stepped up. Nina could feel the sticks, the rocks and leaves poking beneath her, the hardness of the tree's trunk on her back.

She didn't want to feel what was about to happen to her.

"Ryu will come," she said to as much to herself as she did the prince as he knelt down. "He'd die before he let this happen."

Chasta laughed with her hands on her hips. "Eh, Zeth'll hold him off for as long as he needs."

Zeth was there? "Th-then Gray will-"

"The cat? Oh he'll have a hard time bothering us too."

Nina's stomach twisted.

Vahn snapped his fingers and muzzle appeared in his hand. He placed it on her, grasping her slow reacting arms and holding them above her head. He pressed his lips against the grate covering her mouth. "Can't have you biting like you were before, love." Hold magic held her wrists so his hands could go exploring.

"Get...your hands _off _of me!" Nina cried, humiliated and dumbfounded at enjoyment plastered across Chasta's face.

Vahn kissed around the muzzle, moved to unbutton her pants, "Are you sure you want to only watch?" He called back to Chasta.

"Oh yes, I don't want to take any of the attention from her. She deserves it _all."_

Why? Of all people, why Chasta?

"_Honey, Ethan told me that girl's been getting room and board to follow you around like a puppy and pretend every little thing you say is amusing for years," _Ivory's sickeningly sweet voice mocked in the back of her mind.

"Do you suppose she's still a virgin?" Vahn asked, breaking the chain on Merybel's necklace. The Black Wings billowed out, he wasted no time in grabbing at them. "She's been alone with that dragon an awful lot."

"Her?" Chasta scoffed, trying not to show how mesmerized she was at the peculiar way her wings were pulling in the moonlight around them, "Of course she is. You're looking at the biggest prude in the Eastern Kingdoms. She wouldn't dare let any other man other than her precious Guardian touch her."

The gem hit the ground and Merybel came flying out of it. "Leave her alone!" she screamed, grabbing Vahn's hair and pulling his head back. Chasta pointed her amplifier and a shock of gravity magic smashed the tiny faerie into the ground.

"Mery!" Nina cried. She clenched her teeth and kneed Vahn's gut as hard as she could. He flinched, smiled down at her. "That sort of stung, love. You aren't supposed to be able to move that much," He motioned to Chasta. "Come, help me hold her down."

"Can't you do it with your magic?"

The prince licked the side of Nina's disgusted face. "It'll be more fun this way. Here, you get one I'll get the other."

Chasta sighed and grabbed onto one of her legs after Vahn did the other, watching with annoyance him continue to waste time simply fondling her wings and telling her how excited her protests were making him. She wanted to see the princess humiliated as soon as possible! "Hurry up, Vahn! Get it over with so we can drag her back to Wyndia and make her watch what we're going to do to her sister!" she hissed in frustration, biting her lip as soon as the words left her mouth. No! She ruined it! The perfect time to tell her would have been after he had started his business!

"Don't tell me to hurry up," Vahn snapped, "I want to take my time..."

Nina's eyes widened at Chasta. "Wait, w-what did you just say? Do what to my sister?'! _What_ are you going to do to Isabella?'!"

Chasta was having a harder time with her leg now; Nina was trying to kick Vahn again. She struggled to clutch it tighter, got kicked herself in the process. "I'm going to kill her right in front of you is what I'm going to do!" she growled, twisting the leg until Nina let out a howl of pain. Vahn pushed himself against her.

Nina's stomach bottomed out, she struggled to look past Vahn's head. "What? _Why_?'!"

The brunette ignored her question, laughing while she thought_,_ why not press? Nina was making such a _nice _face! "That's right...your precious little Izzie is going to die and then Ethan'll be next! Goddess, _nothing_ is going to be better than seeing you when you watch me take away everything you love, you spoiled little brat!"

"I-I don't understand!" Nina's voice broke. "I don't understand why you're doing this, Chasta!"

"I'm a pretty damn good actress aren't I?" Chasta crowed, releasing the steam from her boiling blood, "I've hated you since the moment we met, hated your entire slave driving family! Everyone was blind to it..." her green eyes shined, her voice suddenly dripped with syrup, "Especially your mother. There was no way in hell her daughter's sweet little handmaiden friend would do _anything _to harm her, right?" Nina blinked. "Gods, it was so easy...I even poured the poison in her tea with her _watching. _She thought it was sugar! Isn't that so _hilarious_?'!"

Nina stared, speechless at her friend's mad grin.

Vahn's hand slid down into her pants. Chasta's giggles became hysterical.

She was dreaming. Chasta really wasn't here, helping this bastard and saying these words! Poisoned her mother?'! It was a lie!

Chasta leaned close. "It's a shame I can't kill you, though," she said into one ear while Vahn sighed in the other. "Vahn wants you for himself back in Ludia," she snickered, "I hope he ravages you until he breaks your Goddessdamned _soul_..."

**Ravage? Let's show them the real meaning of that word, **the Kaiser rasped, tearing Nina's already broken sanity to shreds.

Yes.

Let's.

* * *

Ryu ducked in and out of the shadows while attacking Zeth, only to have every one of his swings deflected easily by the empty eyed assassin.

He knew Vahn had Nina. It was almost impossible to concentrate on his fight with the sensations pulsing through him from that bastard messing with her. He leaped back, panting only partially because of exertion. His opponent eyed him curiously.

Gods_damnit _now he was touching-

The dragon sank his fangs deep into his own arm.

Black eyes turned to red, "Ya 'aight, bro?" Lyut mocked, bringing his dagger up and running his tongue over it. "Vahn makin' yer girlie feel good?"

Ryu bared his teeth, locked his legs to dive forward, and stopped dead in his tracks.

Nina had succumbed to the darkness.

* * *

"Vahn, should I cut off the little girl's head? Or gouge her big puppy dog brown eyes out while she's still squirming? Oo wait, better idea, what if I make _Nina _kill her? Oh that would be the _best_!" Chasta chattered excitedly to Vahn. "What do you think?"

He was scowling down at his hand, "Did you put another enchantment on her? She's not reacting to me anymore."

"No, I-"

Chasta screamed as blood burst from Vahn's forearm.

* * *

"Gray!'! _GRAY!'! WAKE UP!'!_"

The woren opened sleep crusted eyes to find he couldn't move. "What the...?" He turned his head and saw Ryu bounding over, Zeth hot at his heels.

"Gray, I need you to take Zeth! I have to get to Fai'en!"

Gray clenched his teeth and tried as hard as he could to move his limbs. Nothing. "I can't move, bro! I gots some sorta magiks on me!"

Zeth chucked his sword into Ryu's upper back. The dragon pitched forward, caught himself with his hands. The black haired human jumped onto him, buried his dagger deep into his shoulder.

"_Bro!" _Gray roared, awakening the ancient blood within him.

* * *

Vahn screamed, jerking back three quarters of his arm. Blood arched out of it, splattering himself, the ground and Chasta. Chasta, stunned by it all, suddenly realized she wasn't holding Nina's leg anymore, and mountain slammed into her ribcage.

She managed to conjure a thin shield behind her just before she crashed back into a tree, but the impact still knocked her out. She came to seconds later, groggily fighting waves of unconsciousness and excruciating pain to slowly lift her arm and shoot herself with an adrenaline spell. It gave her enough strength to lift her head and see-

A monster straddling Vahn.

Black scales created clawed gauntlets on the Angel of Death's hands and forearms, contorted into spiked armor for her feet and shins. They splashed her shoulders and collarbone, dotted the sides of her torso, ran up until they faded into the sides of her still human looking face. Shimmering black lined her spine down her bare back to coat a bone tail curling gracefully into the air. The Black Wings arched high behind her, two pitch black beasts commandeering the sky.

Vahn writhed beneath her, clutching his gushing arm, moaning in pain. The monster stared down at him with its head cocked, crimson eyes glowing eerily in the darkness. "I'm sorry, did you need this?" her voice was distorted, sinister, mocking, devoid of almost everything Nina. She leaned back, pulled Vahn's hand attached to the missing part of his arm out of her torn pants, letting the dead fingers trail up the bits of scales on her stomach before she dangled it playfully in front of him. His wide blue eyes took it in. "I can hear your heart racing, Prince Vahn of Ludia," she purred, tossing it and leaning down until the sides of her bright hair barely grazed his trembling cheeks. "I can smell the blood panicking in your veins." She slowly, almost seductively ran one one of her clawed hands up his heaving chest. "You kept whispering all that "deep inside" business..." She sat up, grasped his injured arm with the other and held it back, smiling a wide, fanged smile, "What a coincidence," she lifted the claw from his chest into the air, "I really, _really_ need to do the same to you as well!"

Chasta gasped and covered her mouth as the monster's claw plunged into the prince's chest. "Do you like it?" the angel asked a gurgling Vahn as he tried unsuccessfully to grasp at it with his good hand, staring with disbelief at the amount of blood pouring out of him, "Does it feel _good?_" She pushed it further in; the noises he made could barely be classified as human anymore. "Oh, tell me it feels good, Vahn!" The claw twisted, the prince's body jerked. Her shrill laughter echoed in the trees. "_Does it push you over the edge?'!_" she shrieked. Vahn garbled something unintelligible and went limp.

He was obviously dead, but the monster didn't stop. She continued to stab him over and over again with the same claw, screaming, "Do you like it, Vahn? Well _DO YOU?_" showering herself in his blood.

Chasta turned and gagged, it was too much.

The angel's pointed ears twitched. Her head whipped in the other Wyndian's direction when she heard her moaning from the pain of convulsing with broken ribs. All the blood drained from the brunette's face as their eyes met.

Nina's smile widened even more, and then she was nose to nose with Chasta faster than it took the girl to blink. "Now...," the monster said sweetly, cupping Chasta's head in her claws. Liquid soaked the soil underneath the handmaiden's shaking legs, "What were you going to do to my sister again?"


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

_Don't Either of You Dare Judge Her_

"_It ain't somethin' ya learn ova night, Cal. It takes practice, patience! But I guess if'n yous really my son, ya dun have much in tha way o' dat, eh?" Ironsides laughed loudly, slapping a mythical sized hand against a young Caleb's back._

_The pint-sized woren jerked forward with a wince, "I jus dun wanna be scared o' it no more...P-pops."_

"_'Pops' eh?" Ironsides leaned back on his hands, stared up into overcast skies with a wistful smile on his tawny face. Tiny snowflakes drifted sparingly through the crisp always winter air. "Theys ain't no reason ta be scared. It only be tha Tigress testin' ya. She's trusted ya wit a very dang'rous powa, yo best be sho' she gonna make sho' yous worthy o' it."_

_Caleb shrugged ,"Wat if I ain't, tho?"_

_Ironsides grabbed the boy around the shoulders and dug his knuckles into the top of his head bellowing, "No son o' mine gon say rubbish like dat! I said we ain't got no patience, not we ain't got no sense! Yas a Bloodclaw!" he let go of the groaning cat, flashing an unbelievably huge smile, bright green eyes shining. "I believe in ya! Always 'member dat, boy!"_

* * *

The blood of his ancestors screaming inside his veins, Gray burst out of Chasta's magic -along with his armored jacket and the majority of his pants- and tackled Zeth off of Ryu. Zeth, blinded by bulging, silver muscles and deafened by a tremendous roar, fought to take control of the two rolling around on the ground to no avail; two enormous paws gripped his shoulders and slammed his back hard enough against the ground to knock the wind out of him. Gray's mismatched eyes flickered over, the dragon was already up pulling weapons out of him. "Go!" he growled, deep and grainy, "I got 'im!" Ryu turned back.

In his day, it was referred to as Weretiger; hulking ancient feral beasts the woren "royal" bloodline had the ability to transform into to protect their people. Now at least four times his original size, Gray dwarfed the black haired assassin wheezing laughter beneath him. The giant cat turned a massive muzzle down, barked something Ryu didn't understand at Zeth.

Weretiger was known to be an unpredictable, virtually impossible phenomenon to tame; as Ryu knew their leaders in his time were only able to keep control of it for limited periods. His body tensed. He had had the pleasure of fighting against a berserk one before; knew first hand their lust for destruction could rival the Kaiser's.

Yet this woren was completely lucid, inconceivably collected.

"You hard o' hearin', bro? I said ta _git_!" Weretiger roared.

Any more thoughts about it were unnecessary; he had to get to Nina. Ryu nodded sharply and bounded off into the forest.

Zeth -or rather Lyut, Gray realized- caught enough breath to speak in between laughs, "A dragon _an _one o' Irnsides' brats?'! Ain't dis my lucky day!"

Lyut took advantage of the tiny window saying that name gave him, and thrust both of his knees into the cat's surprisingly soft gut. Stars burst in front of Gray's eyes. Lyut rolled out of his loosened grip to his feet. The monster doubled over. "Ya kiddin' me, rite?" He taunted, reaching down and grabbing up the sword he had thrown at Ryu. "If I woulda dun dat ta ya pops, I'd be dead where I be standin'!" He ran his tongue over the blood coating the weapon's blade. He stopped a minute, smacked his lips, made a face and spat, "Sh't, he really ain't no human!"

Gray clutched his stomach, glaring at the assassin's red eyes starting to gleam with amusement again. So he was a little out of shape! It happened when you gained the scum of Chamba's respect the instant you stepped foot into their city; he had avoided conflict for almost two whole years! Between all the booze, the money, and girls, who had time for training? He was already naturally stronger than most people!

But Lyut was not "most people", Gray thought bitterly, he was AG, and must have cybernetic knees, because that hit _hurt_.

_Its because of your clouded blood, you little silver heathen! _

Gray ignored the jeer inside his head, heard Lyut suck his teeth. His eyes swiveled back. The assassin was looking past him into the distance with his arms crossed, "So wat, tha dragon got a'way, who cares eh?" he said out loud, pointing at Gray, "Ain't dis shit like a berserka if I git it pissed? Dun ruin my fun, bro!"

Gray's glare turned into a smirk. 'Beserka' eh? Joke was on him, he at least knew how to control it!

"Wat? No. _No_! I wanna fight tha tiga guy, 'e's _right 'ere_! I dun care if dat ain't wat Vahn payin' us fo'!" Lyut grabbed at his head, stumbled backwards. "'ey! Whaddya doin'?'! _Stop!_"

Red eyes faded to black, and without another word, Zeth zipped past Gray in the direction Ryu went.

"Oh no ya don't, bro!" the woren cried, bounding after him.

* * *

Chasta had never felt anything like this.

Fear pushed against her, _into _her. Mind, body, everything was shutting down. She lost control of her bladder, lost her grip on sanity...

So this was dragonfear, what made the demise of one of the most powerful sorcerers in this world child's play.

"Aren't we _friends_?" she barely heard Nina ask in that gritty, arrogant voice that wasn't hers, "Isn't it rude not to answer a _friend_?" Emerald eyes glassed over.

"Fai'en!"

Nina's head whipped around, broke a jackal smile at the sight of the dragon coming out of the bushes. Keeping her hold on Chasta's head, she dove into the shadows.

Ryu stopped abruptly, eyes frantically cutting air. Why couldn't he see her? He sniffed. _There._ He jumped to the side; Nina emerged from the darkness crouched where he had been standing. He nearly lost his footing at the sight of her dragon-like form up close.

**Ah, she _does _make a beautiful creature does she not?**

Ryu swallowed, couldn't help but to run his gaze down the delicate, shimmering curve of her mostly bare, scale covered spine to the bone tail flicking playfully behind her when she turned to point at something lying in the grass near them. He followed her black talon, brow a knitted mess.

A tangled nest of blonde hair attached to a well dressed mutilated pile of bloodied gore and broken bones met him. "I took care of him. Aren't you proud?" her giddy tone sent goosebumps down his back.

Ryu looked to Chasta who Nina now had by the ponytail. She was barely alive -he could see broken ribs protruding through the tight top she was wearing- and miraculously still conscious. "What are your plans for her?" he asked carefully. Wasn't that her friend, the one she was always crying about?

No, he thought grimly, when the Kaiser took over no one was a friend.

Nina giggled, eyes glowing eerily through splits in her shaggy bangs. "What else? I'm going to _kill _her!" she quipped, letting go of the girl's hair and shoving her to the ground. "_S__uffer_..." Onyx claws grasped both the handmaiden's small, quivering wings.

He had to talk some sense into her before she did something that really would send her flying too far off the edge to return. "But, Fai'en, I thought she was one of your friends."

"_Friend_?'!" she screeched, "She held me down for that bastard!" bones popped and snapped as she twisted sharply. Chasta wheezed; she couldn't take a deep enough breath to scream.

Ryu's face was stone. "No matter what she's done to you, you're going to regret it if you kill her."

"_Will _I?" The other wing crunched.

He realized talk wasn't the way. The Kaiser had made her into a bull-headed dragon, and that was how he was going to have to treat her. He dropped onto all fours, bared as much of his teeth as he could at her. "Stop it right now or I'm going to _make _you!" his words drowned in a snarl.

Nina's giggles died off into the night air as she eyed him starting to circle her. He watched her head slowly lower, the glow of her eyes thin from her dilating pupils. Good, it was working. She released Chasta and crawled down to his level, tail waving excitedly. "I'd like to see you try," she taunted.

He found himself smirking back at her. The lower you crouched against a dragon, the more of a challenge you proposed, and she was nearly dragging her chin against the ground! "You would, would you?"

Shadows swallowed her form. He followed suit, letting his nose take over for his sight. Left, right—wait, _behind_? He whirled, lifted his forearms to take the attack-

Wrong.

A blade sliced cleanly down his back. Dazed, he sensed her behind him again, twisted. Wrong again. Both of his sides split open. And then she was in front of him, touching a talon to his forehead. His eyes flickered up, saw a bone blade dripping with his blood jutting out of her right arm. Sharp pains glued his teeth together. "Have I really become faster than even _you_?" she mocked with an incline of her head, tapping the talon down the bridge of his nose to the tip. "Don't like that much, do you?" Shadows took her.

He growled at empty space. She was _toying _with him!

A heel caught his chin. Fire seared down his chest as her blade tore into it. Damnit, she was so godsdamn _fast! _He barely knocked away the next kick to his torso, missed a shin connecting with the back of his head. Dizzily he reached out when he saw her disappearing again, hoping for a leg, ended up with a fistful of feathers. Taking what he could get, he yanked her roughly back into his arms. Pain seared through the phantom wings on his back. Cursing, she whipped her tail around his ankle and pulled it out from underneath him.

Ryu knew he was there, but Nina's weight hitting against him -she was heavy as a dragon- made it impossible for him to stop them both from falling back onto Zeth's blade.

Steel pierced through their shoulders. The dragon dug the toes of his boots hard into the ground, grabbing onto Nina's jerking body, "Stop thrashing!" he hissed, spitting out a mouthful of feathers. She ignored him and continued flailing her arms, screaming out -Ryu was surprised to hear- Draconian obscenities.

Zeth took something out of his pocket and tossed it over to a groaning Chasta. "Use it! It'll take you to Sophia Black in Chamba!" he called, putting both of his hands back on his hilt.

Chasta blinked, weakly stretched her fingers to touch the glowing coin on the ground in front of her. With Nina's attention elsewhere, bits of her sanity were trickling back, though she really wished they weren't; she could once again feel her wounds. Magical energy jolted through her hand. It would be stupid not to use this, but...Sophia? she thought wearily, It had been a long time.

Nina threw her body to the side. The blade dug deeper into their flesh. Ryu cried out. "No, no, no, you aren't going anywhere until justice is served you _murderer_!" she shrieked.

Chasta managed to stick out her tongue before the winds of warp magic whisked her away.

Ryu braced himself. Nina twisted her head back, glared demonic balls of fire at Zeth. "_You..."_ Before the assassin could retort, she again threw all of her weight to the side. This time, the blade broke from the hilt. She kicked back against Ryu to dislodge herself, spun, and sent a scaled fist slamming into Zeth's gut. His ribs gave way to her knuckles. Her burning eyes made another glowing trail in the darkness as she twirled and bashed a spiked covered knee into his side with enough force to send him careening back into the forest.

Gray stopped dead in his tracks as Zeth flew past him and through a tree.

Ryu pulled the sword out of his back, spotted Weretiger, "Gray! I need your help, she's gone berse-!" A black fist uppercut him. The dragon clumsily deflected her incoming blade with his. Without question, Gray shook away his dumbfounded look and bounded towards them.

Even to Beast Tiger eyes, Nina was a blur dancing around Ryu, but there was no time to marvel. Quickly, desperately, the woren tried to judge where she would land after throwing another kick at the dragon's head and lunged. She lithely flipped back onto his giant arm when he missed grabbing her leg and ran up it.

He wouldn't remember the hit that shattered his jaw and sent him into the ground.

"_Gray!_" Ryu cried. The woren's still body reverted back to normal in the small crater his impact had made. "Godsdamnit, Fai'en you've got to stop this, you're going to end up killing him too!"

"YOU LET HER GET AWAY!" She screamed with all her fury, "ALL OF YOU LET HER GET AWAY!" The Kaiser's laughter pounded inside Ryu's head. In a flash, Nina was on him again, frantically swinging both of her blades. Rage plummeted her accuracy, but the few hits that did make it, nearly had him missing an arm if not for his dense bones. He had to think fast, she was dangerously reckless and incredibly agile, and with the Kaiser's help, didn't seem to tire. "I WANT MY REVENGE!" she shrieked, "_SHE KILLED MY GODSDAMN MOTHER!_" Hearing that made him stumble back on a rock, and his gut took a downpour of blows as consequence.

His limbs were going numb. The bone in his arm was about to snap and he knew he didn't have the strength to grow it back. Fast as a snake, she bit chunks from his shoulder, his chest, his neck.

How in Ladon's name was he supposed to incapacitate something like _this, _he thought, shoving his forearm into her incoming jaws. She crunched into his scales, growling and jerking her head like a mad dog. His stomach twisted at the tears flowing freely from her rabid glare.

Was this what he looked like?

She growled out more Draconian curses through her teeth. He made a face; why did she have to pick the most vulgar ones? Most dragons didn't even _know _those-

Suddenly something clicked in the back of his mind. That's right...she was a dragon now, so would...'_that_' work?

He licked dry lips. It would be one hell of a long shot, but what did he have to lose?

Nina released her hold to jump away from one of his blades slicing across her mid-section. He immediately swung again to keep her away, focusing what energy he had left into his legs. The second one nicked her side, and by taking the miniscule moment she did to contemplate how he could have put a single mark on her, she gave the dragon all the time he needed to get behind her. His arms slid underneath hers before she could dive back into the shadows and his hands interlocked behind her head. Her tail whipped back to trip him, he slammed his heel onto it. Nina roared more obscenities and kicked her feet back hard against his shins. His hands broke apart, one snatched a wing. He whispered an apology and squeezed. A bone cracked. She screamed. Not stopping to react to his own pain, he took the brief moment she was stunned to latch his jaws onto the back of her neck.

Now how did it go? Gods, he hoped it was angled to the left because that was how he had grabbed her, but was it hard pressure or soft? He swallowed, felt the tips of his ears burn. He had never done this before, but he was a male... He was supposed to just _know_.

The bone in his arm cracked more against her struggling. He had to do it now.

He tilted his head a little more and bit down until his teeth broke through her scales. She reached back, grasped two handfuls of his hair. He applied more pressure, felt a jolt ripple though her body. "Wh-what the hell are you doing to m-" Another tilt of his head and she crumpled in his arms. The Kaiser's laughter ceased.

The dragon stood still as a statue in the deafening silence of the forest for a long moment, flabbergasted at the fact he actually managed to do it correctly on the first try.

Below him, Gray started to moan. Ryu released his jaws. "Gr-!" Nina's elbow sunk into he dragon's sore gut, air flew from his lungs. He doubled over as she took to the sky with already healed wings. "Damnit, Fai'en!" he tried to call with a voice he didn't have. His fingers dug into the ground.

"Master Ryu! Are you alright?'!" cried a shrill voice.

He blinked, Merybel was at his side looking embarrassed. "I...th-the girl with the prince knocked me out, I-I just woke up and saw that blonde dummy _hit _you and fly away!"

Ryu pushed her away. "-heal Gray!" he wheezed, pointing hard at the woren.

"B-but!"

"_Do it!_"

Tears in her eyes, the faerie reluctantly dropped down beside Gray.

Ryu sniffed the air and pulled himself shakily to his feet. He staggered, Merybel started. "_No,_" he warned her. She settled back, blinking away more water. He took a deep breath when he found he could again and exhaled slowly, calmly. There. If he was lucky, he would be good for a few more minutes.

"You're going after her, aren't you?" Merybel sobbed softly.

He nodded. "Take care of Gray."

"I'm coming for you once he's healed!" she cried to his disappearing back.

* * *

It took longer than expected -after all his condition dulled his senses significantly- but Ryu finally found his other half huddled in the upper branches of one of the tallest trees in the forest, the treacherous Black Wings forming a dark shield around her frail body. He scaled the tree, dropped down carefully onto the end of the branch she was on with his head low and his muscles painfully poised, ready to spring at any sudden movements. He could only scarcely sense the Kaiser on her now, but there was no telling how she was going to cope with the reality of what he had made her do.

Her wings twitched when he touched down. He paused to listen to her heartbeat. Rapid, fearful. He cautioned to crawl a few feet closer. No further response. He slowly sat back on his haunches.

For a long time Ryu stared at her hugging her knees in silence, listening to her feathers rustle from both the wind and her tremors. No longer did she bear a tail, though it made him nervous her arms and hands were still heavily armored. Splotches of onyx lingered on her bare shoulders, sparkled in what moonlight managed to get past the black voids encircling her. Her face was buried between her knees. He wondered when she looked up, if her eyes would still have that hellish glow, the same look of tortured rage...

After all, she really was a monster now just like him.

"Fai'en," he decided to venture. The sound of his voice induced movement. Her legs shook, her heart sounded as though it would burst. "Fai'en, I'm not angry I prom-"

"Is Vahn?" she interrupted sharply.

Ryu paused, knew he had to tell her the truth. "Yes."

She turned her head to the side, started chewing heavily on the inside of her cheek. Blood seeped onto his tongue. "I-Is..." her tone softened, she released her cheek to bite down on her bottom lip. "Is Cha...Chas..." Harder. More blood. "D-Did I...?

"No."

An invisible weight slid from her shoulders. She sat up and leaned back against the tree. Her body and wings sagged with a ragged sigh of relief ending in a laugh that made the hair on the back of Ryu's neck stand on end. The tip of his left bone blade instinctively broke through skin, he steadied his arm. "My gods, Ryu, this is _exactly _why you are the way you are!" she choked through both laughter and tears, staring up into the star filled sky. "It's inevitable, isn't it, dragon? No matter how nice someone seems to you, no matter how much you tell them you care about them, how much they tell you they care about you...no matter if they've stood up for you, wiped away your tears, told you they would be there for you no matter what because they were your best f-f-friend..." she sniffed, onyx claws clenched at her sides. "They will _all _stab you in the back one day, won't they?'! _Won't they, Ryu?'!_"

His eyes flickered to scales quivering on her shoulders. "Fai'en, you've got to calm down."

"_Calm down_?'!_"_ Rivers ran down her cheeks, down her long, white neck. "I _loved_ that girl, Ryu, I _loved _Ethan! Why would they do this to me? What made them hate me so much? I always treated them as equals!" The tips of her claws sunk into wood as she gripped the branch beneath her. Her disheveled head dropped back down. "I was always in trouble for being too nice to them... Chasta would talk back to me, and she could, I didn't mind because we were...friends..." she sobbed through the word. "My father didn't understand why I would let her, I was royalty and people in our position deserved the utmost respect because our blood was better than any 'filthy commoner's', but I didn't believe that! I loved Chasta and I wouldn't have cared if her blood was blacker than these goddess forsaken wings, I still would've adored every minute I spent with her just the same!" Shaking claws went into her hair. "B-but my mother...s-she...my mother treated her like a daughter! H-How could..._why _would she ki..kill... A-and my sister...sh-she wants to- Oh Gods, Isabella..." she swallowed, shrieked, "_I don't understand!"_

Ryu felt the Kaiser's dark, suffocating aura surround them. He grabbed onto her shoulders, shook her once hard. "Stop it, you're doing exactly what he wants!" Both of his hands clamped onto the sides of her face, held it firmly in front of him. Unfocused eyes flaring with the Kaiser's red fire blinked back at him, claws grabbed at his wrists. "I know I'm asking the impossible...standing up to him when he's this connected is one of the hardest things you'll ever have to do in your life, but you don't have a choice here! For both of our sakes you _have _to learn how to!"

The scales that rose to protect him crunched in her tremendous grip, "I...c-can't..." her voice distorted. "I'm...I'm losing it again..."

Ryu locked his forehead to hers, cursing. "No you're not, you're going to stay right here with me!" Laughter roared between his ears.

She blinked hard, focused on him for an agonizing second. "...h-help me..." the unbridled terror behind her tears pierced his stomach. He _knew _that fear.

Without another thought, he broke her hold and took her in his arms. Her face went into his rag of a shirt, her body trembled so hard it shook them both. "...I-I n-n-need you..." she sobbed. "don't let him take me, _don't let him take me...!_"

"I won't," He promised gently, firmly holding the back of her head.

Her soul stirred inside him.

**It's no use, Half-breed, she's mine!**

Nina's claws ripped into his back where she was holding onto him. He ground his teeth together, grasped her tighter. "Don't let that bastard win!" She was again a growling beast in his arms. "Please, Fai'en!"

Her fangs crunched into scales on his throat. He kept a firm hold on the back of her hair. If he hadn't have grabbed it to buy that split second to put up defenses... "Fai'en!" It fell on deaf ears, she threw her head to the side. It took all of the dragon's strength to hold his neck straight so she didn't break it.

Damnit, he was going to have to do it again.

But surely he wouldn't be so lucky twice... He brushed his fingers over dents still in her scales where he had bit before. If he just followed them-

Suddenly Nina released, and in brief moment of clarity pulled her arms from around him. "Fai'en?"

The Wydian crushed her own elbow in one of her claws and fell unconscious against a screaming Ryu.

"Oi, I 'ear ya bro, I'm comin'!"

"M-Master hold on! "

Gray leaped from the branch of another tree onto theirs. "Oi, oi, _Tigress' wiskas,_ ya 'aight? Did she-?" He stopped. The girl's black "armor" was retreating back into her skin. Her elbow repaired itself before his eyes.

Ryu's however, did not. Merybel rushed to him. "Get away from her, Master, she's going to hurt you again-!"

She shrank back from the glare he shot both her and the cat. "Don't either of you _dare_ judge her!" he snarled.

"But she-!"

"_I mean it_, _Merybel!_"

The faerie touched his arm, averting her eyes. "I just don't like seeing you hurt, Master," she mumbled. Soft lights soaked into his joint from her hands.

"Well you need to learn to worry about her as well." Trembling violently, he lifted himself and Nina up.

"M-master you mustn't move yet! I'm not done!" Merybel cried, grabbing his shoulder. He shrugged her off.

"I'm not going anywhere." He put his back against the tree's trunk, held Nina in his good arm. "Continue now if you want, but we both know after healing an injury like his, you're only going to be able to scratch the surface of mine." Merybel sighed and floated to him. To her annoyance, he was right, it wasn't too long after she placed her glowing hands on the dragon that Gray had to catch the weakened faerie before she fell from the air.

The cat marveled at Ryu's condition, considered himself lucky to have gone down so quick. "Only judge'ment I have is that I ain't _eva_ gonna get on 'er bad side." He set Merybel down on his shoulder, rubbed a paw against his sore jaw. "One hit an' she broke it man, in _Beast _form! Wat the hells inside ya guys?" Ryu hesitated. The woren sighed. "Still ain't keen on trustin' me yet, eh? I kno' ya was watchin' me like a hawk wit' 'er back at tha camp."

Ryu shook his head, "It's not like that anymore. Merybel helped you. If she didn't trust you around me, she would have made sure you stayed down for awhile."

Gray turned to the faerie, the cute smile she flashed sent a tiny shiver down his spine. "I see..."

"I need to ask a trade of you, Gray. I'll tell you all you wish, if you get me a blanket, a pillow, and something to eat," an embarrassed look crossed Ryu's face. "She did a number on me as well; I can hardly move."

'A number on him'? He was fortunate he was conscious at all! The woren nodded. If he was going to continue hanging around them, he needed this guy back in shape as soon as possible. "No worries, bro, be back inna flash!"

He leaped down from the branch, Merybel watched him disappear through the treetops below. "He worried about you two before himself," she said. "That's how I knew he was alright."

"Good to know."

Her eyes went to Nina sleeping in his arm. "Master...the girl..." the faerie cringed, expecting for him to get angry again. "I'm scared she'll-"

"Do you remember when you found me in the woods so many years ago?"

She nodded thoughtfully, "How could I not?"

"I had forgotten civilized language, all 'human' functions. Months had passed before me like hours, blurred together with nothing but the feel of my teeth ripping into flesh and the sounds of screams in my ears." Merybel floated to him, placed a hand over a gash on his cheek. "I had forgotten myself, everything that made me, _me._" He looked to Nina. The more he did, the more he realized she really didn't look as much like _her _as he had originally perceived. "She was strong enough to avoid the fate my first full transformation bestowed me. Granted I had no one to hold me through it and she only possesses half of the Kaiser's fury, I still cannot help but to respect her for the willpower I didn't know was in this spoiled brat."

After a long pause, pink orbs moved down to watch Nina's wings pulling in all the moonlight around them. "They're creepy, aren't they Master?" she whispered.

He nodded. "And conspicuous. Do you have her pendant?"

Merybel shook her head. "It's done for, that blonde dummy broke it."

"What? How?"

"I didn't reverse a curse he cast on it when he last took it off of her."

"Why would you not?"

"Did you forget I had a front row seat to her attack?" cried the faerie defensively. She thought back and shuddered. "I don't like her...but I also don't think she deserved what he was trying to do to her, or to be so scared..." She crossed her arms. "She should be proud she had a part in his death!"

The branch shook with Gray's landing. "I agree," he said, tossing Ryu a pillow, a blanket, and a chunk of bacon. Ryu caught the meat in his jaws, the other things in his hands. He cringed.

"Don't make him make any sudden movements, you dummy!" Merybel cried with her hands on her hips.

Gray shrugged. "Eh, 'e's tough. I think 'e can handle it." He said, plopping down on crossed legs. "Now, fo' yo' end." Behind him, his black and silver striped tail twitched curiously. "I wanna kno' _all _'bout ya."

Ryu put the pillow behind his head and wrapped the blanket around Nina. He bit off a chunk of meat. "He calls himself the 'Kaiser'," he said swallowing. Ryu explained his heritage and how the dark blood within him made it impossible to control the dragon form his light blood blessed him with. "Chaos. He thrives on it, will do everything in his power to make sure he is surrounded by it, make you angry, drive you insane, it doesn't matter, he loves either equally." He took another bite. "I assume Weretiger is similar?"

Gray scratched his head, "'Weretiger'?" he whistled. "That's an _old_ name, bro, a name fo' folks back in tha day who ain't keen on wat's up or down dealin' wit tha Blood of tha Beast."

"No disrespect intended."

"'Ain't none taken! It just goes ta sho' ya really ain't from these parts."

"You said before, 'He' doesn't like your mixed blood, so I assumed as much."

Gray shook his head, "O, it ain't the same as wat yous two have at all now that ya talkin' 'bout it. When I say ''e', I mean my ass'ole granpops."

"'Granpops?'"

"Well, I gots mo' than Granpops in me blood, but 'e's tha on'ly one I eva really 'ear." He laughed at Ryu's confusion. "See, evry one o' us wit beast blood is connected. When I kick tha bucket, I'll be harpin' along wit them in tha aftalife too, annoyin' tha 'ell outta the next gen'rations jus' like thay do me."

"That's..."

"It ain't no big deal. I came ta terms wit it long ago. Can't do nunthin' 'bout it no how, so why worry? At least I'll always kno' whetha not my pops's be alive somewhere."

"So you can control it, huh," Ryu said, "Must be nice."

"At least ya know it ain't 'cause ya weak." Nina stirred, Gray nodded at her. "Is it tha same fo' Nina there?"

"From what I gather, my soul is making her a hybrid like myself, so like with me, the Kaiser also seems to only be able to influence her personality, not fully take her over."

Gray scratched his head. "How tha hell did ya stop 'er in tha first place? Befo' I was out, yous was havin' a hell of a time wit 'er."

Embarrassment flashed. "Ah, it's..." Ryu exhaled, held the inside of his bottom lip between his teeth for a moment, a habit he was starting to get from the Wyndian. "It may seem primitive to you a-and it even was for a majority of the light ones in my time, but dragons have a sort of...ancient courting ritual from before there were kingdoms." Gray looked even more interested. Ryu cleared his throat and continued. "Dragon women as a whole are...were...known to be just as strong, if not strong-_er_ than most males, so it would make sense they would want someone even more able than them to ensure the vitality of their bloodline.

"If one is interested in a male -or vice versa- one would challenge the other to a duel, whereas the only rule is for the female to give everything she had to stop the male from grabbing the back of her neck in his jaws." He lifted Nina's hair so Gray could see hers. The marks were still there. They would be for a long time. "And not just a normal grab either, it has to be at the right angle, with the right amount of pressure to render her completely defenseless."

"Dafenseless?" Gray's eyebrows raised.

"The female loses all control of her body, almost like when a mother feline grabs its cub by the scruff of their neck."

"What be tha purpose o' somnthin' like that?"

Ryu shrugged, "Ah, nature I suppose? I was, well I'm told er, some female dragons um fight when they...ah...well...what I'm saying is he, the male, ah has to have some way to control...ah...you know what I mean...? Tch, just know if he can do it properly, he deems himself worthy to be her mate, alright?"

Gray was intrigued by the dragon's uncharacteristic show of awkwardness, "Ya marks is still there. That ta tell otha mates she already got someone claimin' 'er?"

"Something like that... Listen, I was desperate and it was all I could think of," Ryu said with his brows furrowed, "and if it hadn't have worked, she would have killed us all."

"Well good ta kno' ya kno' how ta stop 'er."

He was surprised to see the dragon fail to disguise another uncomfortable eye shift. "If I can help it, I would like not to resort to it again."

"Aw, it worked so good!"

"Do you know what happened to Zeth?" asked Ryu abruptly.

Gray decided to heed the dragon's unspoken wish. "Last I saw, 'e was down an' out from bein' thrown thru a tree. If 'e survived, 'e prob'ly won't come afta us fo' awhile."

"How long do you think we have?"

The cat shrugged. "'pends on where tha rest o' tha AG be out hidin'. If 'e calls fo' help an theys near common sense says..."

"I need one day, half of one if things get intense," Ryu said, wincing. "Can you handle guarding me for at least that?"

The woren nodded. "I'll try it, sho' thang, bro. I def'int'ly want ya in tip top shape." Because he sure as hell wasn't. He was glad Ryu wanted a break. Now he had a chance to practice on any unsuspecting bandits or larger than normal animals happening to walk by. He had to get used to his beast form again!

"I thank you."

Gray smiled. "Ain't nuthin'. It's wat comrades is fo', rite? Git some rest. I got ya covahed." He jumped down off of the branch.

"Go with him Mery," Ryu said to the faerie.

"What, why? I want to stay with you!"

"If he gets attacked by any of those assassins, he's going to need you more."

"No, I...!"

"Please, Merybel, I'm asking you to do this."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "You better be glad I like you, Master," she mumbled, jutting her lip out. In a puff of pink sparkles, she flew to him, planted a kiss on his cheek, and dropped down into the forest after Gray.

Good. Now if Nina woke up and went berserk again, he would be the only one she could hurt.

She stirred again, made a gentle sighing noise before burying her face into the crook of his arm.

He leaned his head back on the pillow. Stars twinkled above him in the night sky through branches waving in the wind. His eyes closed. Just for one day...he wanted to be selfish.

He allowed sleep to seduce him.

* * *

Gentle winds combed Nina's fiery bangs across her face. Birds chirped in the leaves rustling all around her. She awoke wrapped in something soft and warm, her head rose and fell rhythmically. Tired, swollen eyelids pulled apart to ripped black cloth stretched over bronzed skin, looked up to see Ryu. Her heart fluttered.

While she was on her rampage, his soul had protected her from the Kaiser, even though it scared him out of his mind to do so. Locking his small forehead to hers, with eyes intensely wide and his knees knocking into one another he had screamed at her over and over to "_Focus on me and only me!_" through the Kaiser's madness sucking them both into oblivion.

Without him, there wouldn't have been enough of her mind left to climb back out.

The dragon stirred with a snore. She yawned, she was still _so _tired... Gripping what she realized was a blanket around her, she snuggled back into him, breathing in his scent. What used to spark apprehension now filled her with an overwhelming sense of security, an odd calmness...

When she awoke next, he was staring down at her. Face on fire, she quickly sat up from him with the blanket. He didn't budge. She started to say something, stopped when she saw him head to toe. He was a rag doll lying back against the trunk of the same tree she had sought refuge in after her nightmare. His arms, riddled with gashes full of red scales hung limply at his sides. His legs, just as wounded, were stretched out in front of him. His shirt was nothing more than strips of black cloth clinging to his scale splotched torso. He smiled wearily, "Don't make a face like that, it's nothing another good night's sleep won't fix."

She bit down on a shaking lip, wiped away tears welling up in her eyes with her palms. "I-I promise I didn't ask for his help this t-time...!"

The dragon nodded. "I believe you."

She hiccuped, pulled the blanket up around her shoulders. Now that she was away from his heater of a body, it was getting chilly up in that treetop with only a torn brassiere on. She sniffed loudly.

"What's more important, however, is you. Are you going to be alright?"

The events from last night she could remember replayed through her mind. Chasta's maddened confessions, Vahn's sick words assaulting her sheltered ears... She shivered, her stomach churned. His blood was all over her; she could smell it. She looked down at wide streaks of it crusting on her pale torso. Oh gods so much of it was on her hands! She rubbed them into the blanket. It wasn't coming off. The rank, irony scent pushed bile up into her throat. She turned and was sick off the side of the branch.

There was a gruff groan and some rustling, and she felt a hand on her upper back. She wiped her mouth on her forearm. "...why are you being so nice?" she asked in a small voice, spitting down into the tops of smaller trees below them. "I lost control."

"Fai'en," his voice was soft, soothing, it was a strange way to hear him. "I am not without a heart." She didn't answer. He sighed, "And here I was going to tell you I was actually proud of you."

She looked to him incredulously, bits of her bangs curled in the perspiration drenching her forehead, "You...were?"

He nodded, she realized he was gradually leaning more and more of his weight onto her. "It was quick thinking...mutilating your own arm like that." He exhaled raggedly, the hand on her back began to tremble. "You're a lot...t-tougher than I gave you credit for..."

"Ryu are you alrigh-" he collapsed onto her. She was glad the branch they were on was huge.

"Put me...back up against...the tree..." he wheezed.

With great effort -he was extremely heavy- she lifted him off of her and sat him back against the trunk. His chest heaved, his skin was as clammy as hers and taking on a grayish hue. "H-how come you're not healing?" she whimpered.

"I said don't...worry... I'll sleep one...more...day..."

It was almost daybreak, the tip of the sun rising over the snow capped northern mountains caught Nina's eye. The line of her jittery jaw squared, "I'll do what I can to protect you while you rest," she promised him, "It's only fair I return the favor."

"It was no favor, I told you I do not break any promises."

"Even so-"

She had seen Ryu genuinely smile a handful of times, but none had ever given her the butterflies this one did, "I appreciate the thought, but there's no need, Gray's keeping watch down below."

Right, Gray! She relaxed. Good, he was alright. It had been eating at the back of her mind. "Wait, _d__irectly _below?" she asked, glad she had a reason to look away.

The dragon's laugh ended in a hacking cough, Nina left the butterflies behind to rush to his side. "Stop fretting about me, Fai'en, I mean it," he tried to say firmly, ended up coughing again.

"How can I not? You're all I have left!" she choked. His features softened, she wrapped her arms around one of his. "I can't trust anyone else! You're the only one I know won't betray me!"

"I couldn't betray you if I wanted to."

Her watery eyes were desperate, "Say you won't ever betray me, Ryu...promise you won't ever put a knife in my back...that you'll be my frien-"

She stopped, dropped her hold on his arm and scooted back from him, embarrassed. "I-I'm sorry..." The apples of her cheeks ripened. "I-I-I know you...don't like to be touched...a-and it's s-s-stupid of me to ask you such a ch-ch-childish thing-... F-forget it, please just forget I said a thing to you!" she cried throwing her arms up.

"From a very young age, I was raised to be nothing but a weapon for my 'master's' use, and as such I never had use for luxuries like friends or lovers." He met her astonished gaze. "My contact with living things was usually limited to how long it took me to unsheathe my blades, so you can imagine how foreign the rules of engagement are to me. However," His smile brought the butterflies back full force. "Maybe it's about time I try to learn how to co-exist with others without bringing about conflict, don't you think? After all, you and Gray do seem like nice people."

Nina's lips parted, she couldn't believe what she was hearing from him.

"That is, if you both will have a bastard like me."

"You're not a bastard," she said softly, wiping her eyes on the blanket. "At least not all the time."

"I suppose that's better than nothing, huh?"

A small smile spread. Was this really happening? Was _Ryu_ actually trying to cheer her up? "Now if only I could be as strong as you and not ever go crazy...maybe we'd be alright." Nina's head inclined at the look that came over the dragon. "What is it?"

He was quiet for ten agonizingly slow breaths. "I have something I don't want, but need to tell you."

Her stomach dropped. What now? What else did that bastard Kaiser make her do? She didn't know how much more she could take.

His eyes darted away, her anxiety heightened. "I...lost control last night as well."

She didn't expect that. "Y-You did? How?" Against her?

"The girl with Vahn. She must've dabbled deep in shifting magic because she made herself look exactly like him and was waiting out in the woods for me as bait." He paused, looked even more troubled. "She...was doused in his cologne. I smelled it and..."

Nina's eyes widened. She knew what was coming.

"I lost control. I'm..." Ashamed eyes locked with hers and she could feel it, the weight of regret in his soul. "I know you got along with her. I'm...sorry."

The Wyndian paused, she did get along with her, but just like everyone else that girl did what she could to help Vahn come after her. She shook her head. "Her too, huh?" she asked absently.

Ryu knew he was watching her heart slowly crystallize into the lump of ice his own had already become long ago as she was again hit with the reality that no matter what, anyone and everyone could possibly be an enemy. A chunk of frost fell from his when he found himself saying, "It really isn't fair you ever became mixed up with me, Fai'en."

The smile she returned was cynical. "...the sad part is, I think the latter would have left me worse off." She clasped her hands together in her lap. "I may be naive, but I'm far from deaf. I've heard stories. Powerful men who take what they want and throw away what bores them." She laughed softly, "My rejections amused Vahn, but I'm sure with his short fuse, the novelty of it wouldn't have lasted long." She looked to Ryu. "And I don't think my will to live would have either."

She had gone from vomiting to talking coolly about the prince she had murdered so violently in minutes.

The desensitizing had begun.

"Either way, I wouldn't have gotten to live how I wanted, so it doesn't matter. Chasta would have betrayed me anyhow, if it's true she's always hated me,'" She paused, looked thoughtful. "You stopped me from killing her didn't you?"

Ryu smiled crookedly. "How do you think I ended up this way?"

"...I am in your debt, dragon," she said softly.

"I knew no matter what she had done to you, you wouldn't ever really want to kill her."

"You thought right," her eyes went out over the tops of the trees around them. "I have much I still want to discuss with her." He felt her bite her lip. "I only hope she keeps deciding to follow us. I want her as far away from Wyndia as possible."

"Worried for your sister?"

"Very."

"I understand."

She knew he did. "I...want to take Isabella from Wyndia after all of this is over. Even if Vahn's death causes nothing...Chasta eventually will. Will you still help me, war or not?"

"Would it make you feel better if I promise to do so no matter what happens?"

"Yes."

"Then consider it done."

"Just like that?"

"Isn't that what friends are for?"

Nina knew he hated to be touched -by her probably the least- but as soon as those wonderful words left his lips, hers pecked his unusually smooth cheek. He stared at her curiously as she pulled away. "I...you...don't know how much hearing that means," she whispered.

"In all honesty, I think I do."

She also knew, deep down in her heart, that this was all a show, that his body couldn't possibly handle the Kaiser again, so it was spitting forth whatever it thought she needed to hear to stay stabilized.

Blue skies stretched out over them, cloudless, beautiful. Birds sang and hopped around Nina as if her and the dragon weren't there. She let the black monstrosities behind her spread into the wind and flapped them once before curling them back against her.

Yet she held intimately close those pretty words, with all their glamor, because she _did _in fact need them.

Gods knew she needed all she could get.

* * *

**A/N: Blame Star Wars and Skyward Sword for the lateness, not me :)**


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

_I Have a lot I Need to Say to You_

Lights flickered.

In.

Out.

In for a little bit.

Out the same.

Incessant, annoying buzzing, like angry wasps trapped inside of glass.

Metal clinked off to the side.

A whistled tune stirred emotions.

Chasta blinked slowly to an unfamiliar ceiling.

Unfamiliar, yet she knew exactly where she was.

"You are one lucky, lucky girl." It was too painful to roll her eyes, much less turn her head in the direction of the voice. Something sharp stung her elbow. It twitched. "I heard it wasn't the same for some." Long, dark curls spilled into Chasta's view. Lenses on a pair of glasses glinted as they turned down. Behind them, sat emeralds mirroring her own. "Lucky, but in no good shape at all." Chasta tried to speak, only an agonizing wheeze could be managed. "Speaking will probably be impossible for you for a few more days at least, as well as any sort of movement." A pale hand reached down and felt her pulse. "I know, you're thinking 'why not go ahead and use an amplifier on me?' and I would, if you weren't Wyndian." The fingers left her throat. "The initial shock of the device would obliterate what's left of your brittle bones. We have to give your body some time to heal before we subject it to such a procedure."

Silence. The wasps threw themselves against their prison again.

The glasses went back. Chasta heard something, a chair being dragged closer and clothes rustling. The female sat down beside her. Sophia, she meant to think. "I'm not ashamed to say I'm glad you don't have the ability to interrupt me, because I have a lot I need to say to you," came her slightly firmer voice. Chasta tried to frown.

"Princess Nina is no longer just the Princess of Wyndia anymore, she's the Angel of Godessdamned _Death._ What the hell is wrong with you? I know you think you're doing some grand, vigilant thing for our family but in reality, what does it matter? Everyone's dead except for you and I, and they have been for years. I told you that in my letters. I said it didn't matter to me what happened to the royal family, remember?" she paused, let out a sigh. "I'm a 'wingless', if I wouldn't have been exiled, I would have been ostracized for the rest of my life. This is better for me! You may think being a doctor for the scumbags around here is a sad fate...but even scum can be thankful you saved their life." Chasta finally managed to form her mouth into one of distaste. Sophia ignored it. "Was it really so terrible being forced to live in castle Wyndia? Did you not enjoy three square meals a day? A bed to sleep in? To many people in this city, things as simple as those are but a fleeting dream." Clothes rustled again. She must have crossed her legs. "I know you did the Queen in. They said the stress of the younger Wynlan's black tipped wings was the culprit, but I knew better. While Wyndia mourned, your letters sang of joy. You of course never sent them conventionally, and never wrote anything more than mild distaste for the Wynlan dynasty, but you're damn lucky no one suspected you. I thought the King surely would, then lo and behold, here came more of your bubbly handwriting decorating my desk."

Annoyingly, Sophia was right, she _was _lucky. The King had Ethan's father Lucius glued to her back from the time she was appointed the princess' playmate until he was murdered. Then, astonishingly, there was an interval. She thought at first he might have been replaced with an assassin, or worse AG, since she couldn't sense a damn thing following her, but as time wore on, she concluded her "best friend" act with Nina had taken the eyes from her. It wasn't until after she offed Nina's mother she became aware that damn Ironsides might have been her ever watchful shadow. He confronted her after the funeral -that overbearing monster of a cat- and told her he knew she was responsible, but couldn't prove it. That same night, he had his hands full with an assassin aiming for Isabella. Naturally, she feigned ignorance, and he left with a warning consisting of an arrow out of nowhere whizzing past her head close enough to nick the top of her ear. It worked, she didn't dare to entertain a single malicious thought until Ethan had returned.

"I suppose it isn't all your fault. You were raised on violence. I remember Mother's tearful communicator calls, sobbing about how Father and Lyle were taking you to work with them all the time. At the ripe old age of six, you had already imbued more amplifiers than your little fingers could count, why in the world would you care about the soul of the queen of your country?"

Chasta's mouth twitched with the ghost of a smile. She hadn't had to refill her amplifier in a _long _time.

"I want you to forget about it. The Queen is enough. You aren't equipped for the Angel of Death or her counterparts. I've got room here if you want to stay. There's plenty of work in Chamba for anyone of any race, so there's no reason for you to continue this suicidal nonsense." Sophia stood. "I'm asking you as your sister, as someone who cares." Chasta stared blankly back at her. Sophia lifted her hand to pat her head, or maybe touch her face, then stopped as she must've thought it intrusive. It would have been. This was the first time since she was taken away, Chasta had laid eyes on her older sister. Sophia lowered her hand, turning away, "Try and rest. I'm going out for a few errands. I'll be back soon to check up on you." Her heels clicked against concrete a few times and stopped. "Think about it, Chasta. Life's too short, we should make the best of what we can together, as a family." A heavy door creaked open then shut with a loud, echoing _bang._

Chasta closed her eyes. The IV attached to her arm filled her body with numbing relief.

No. The King hadn't suffered enough, and Nina...

Angel of Death or not, even if she had to use all the amplifiers in the world along with every member of the AG to get there, she was going to be the one to cast the final stone.

Period.

* * *

Leaves rustled, fell as squirrels tore between branches. Dust rose from scores of paws scraping against the forest floor. Roars echoed in the distance.

The catalyst for the commotion lumbered forward, bending weaker trees with its girth, its heavy steps quaking the earth. It stumbled, became a thick fur blanket against a large sturdy trunk. White mist poured in ragged puffs from a long snout, steam rose from gaping wounds. It struggled to stand, its beady eyes flickering maddeningly.

Nina eyed the creature from the shadows behind a patch of tall grass where she was crouched. She listened to its giant heart snap into a frenzy. Damn, she thought for sure she was being careful! Amber went up, followed a silver streak in the trees.

Gray landed on a branch above the suffering beast looking like one himself in the green light of winter's dominant moon. The creature's massive head went up, its giant jaws opened in a spit flinging roar of rage. Panicked birds clouded the sky.

_Crack-_

Nina darted out of the darkness and shattered one of its front knees. Another howl screeched as it thundered to the ground. Gray's hulking body landed on its back, his fists went into the air. Nina appeared again in front of the beast grabbing both of the curled tusks jutting out from either side of its massive skull to hold it still. It tried unsuccessfully to throw her to the side, fearful rancid breath enveloped her like a fog. She grit her teeth, dug scaled feet into the ground. Gray's fists came down.

_Crash!_

More leaves.

Silence.

Cooler weather was upon them, but Nina could no longer feel the difference, only tell by the size of the clouds puffing out of everyone's mouths when they breathed or spoke, and the way the air lately was drying her skin out. She hiked their prey's oxen-like hindquarters over her head and peered through scraggly fur at Gray picking up the head. "Lucky find, eh?" he called back.

It was. They happened to stumble upon this one already engaged in a fight to the death with an adversary dwarfing even it. Somehow, he emerged the victor and had the unfortunate fate of meeting them. "Is it wrong I feel sort of bad?" she asked flicking her head to clear her vision of fiery tinged blonde hair.

Gray shrugged. Moonlight shimmered on the fur stretched over his ripped back. Whenever he was in beast form, his muscles always looked like they wanted to jump through his skin. "If'n it ain't him, it be some udda po' sap, wat diff'rence do it make?"

He was right about that too. When the hunting party included her and no Ryu, they had no choice but to aim for the handicapped. Gray wasn't capable of handing Nina if exerting herself caused "complications".

"Ya doin' gud tho' ya kno', Nina," he commended, "'Memba tha udda day ya couldn't even handle lookin' at blood?"

Something had changed in her the day she was introduced to the Kaiser, and that _something _grew stronger with every breakdown, every window he was allowed to step through. Ryu called it _Des Kild'ros_ "the balance" between a dragon's "humanity" and their animalistic nature.

She made him repeat it, the fact the Kaiser had made her into an actual Goddess forsaken _dragon_.

There were definite perks to it. Winter? Where? She couldn't feel it; her body was at a constant comfortable degree. Heavy loads such as this one? Easy. It felt like a basket of flowers. Do a back flip, finish with a split? No problem, there were no limitations to balance or flexibility.

But hunting, fighting...or the crimson ambrosia coming out of beings who were hunted or fought... Therein lied the conflict.

Ryu said Dark Dragons had a more difficult time grasping the concept of balance because -since they were cursed to never be able to transform- there was no outlet for the "animal". It was forced to incorporate itself into their everyday actions. It was why he ran on all fours, and sometimes couldn't resist the urge to chase a moving object.

Blood was her problem. Heartbeats in particular. She could hear them everywhere, loud as if she were ear to chest with whomever they belonged to. Like now, Gray's rhythm was normal, but the pump was powerful...tantalizing- She shook her head.

"_Do not associate heartbeats with blood," Ryu said, sitting down on a rock and pulling his shirt off. He wrapped it around his shoulder and collarbone where she had bitten chunks out of both. It was soaked through before he spoke again, "You'll have a much easier time."_

_Nina sat a few feet away from him, still licking his crimson from her lips. "And how would I do that?" she asked, curling her fingers around a rock at her feet and squeezing tight. She wanted to wring the contents of that cloth down her throat. The rock in her hand crumbled. _

"_Heartbeats are a person's other 'face'. My heart is calm now because I am. Yours is erratic because you're anxious. That squirrel over there, he's trying to look like he isn't paying attention to us, but he's frozen stiff, any minute now his chest is going to burst." He looked back at Nina, she swallowed back what the smell of his wounds conjured. "It's hard, I know. I love the taste of it as much as you might have loved a certain home cooked meal, but I've gotten past the point of craving it, so I know you can as well, Na'vie." He stood and flexed blades out of his arms. "Now come on, we're giving it another go."_

Nina smiled. _Na'vie _meant friend, more particularly _warrior _friend, his soul pointed out to her. Apparently her breaking out of the Kaiser's hold without his help warranted a huge amount of respect.

"Boy, Ryu gon' be su'prised 'bout dis big ol' somebitch, I tell ya wat!" Gray called back. "Ya opposed ta tellin' 'im 'e waz right as rain when we's ran up on 'im?"

"Not at all!" she laughed, "Though I think he might notice the gore wounds on the underbelly, they're a teensy bit bigger than my blades."

"Dun let 'im look!"

"Roger! I'll guard it with my life!"

She was glad the monster's stench was strong enough to cover the blood. Just smelling the little bit dripping from those wounds was making her mouth water.

Their campfire glowed in the distance, almost there.

"Guard what?" asked Ryu beside her.

"The gore mar-ahh!" Nina tossed her share of the burden into the air and jumped back. Gray turned around. Ryu caught it with one hand, laughing at her. She slugged his arm.

And with that respect, came out a bit of the real Ryu; a mischievous man child.

"How many is that, five to two?"

"That's cheating, that thing _stinks_! There was _no _way I could smell you over it!"

"You can't say a thing, Na'vie, not after the rotten fish you carried to fool me."

"Oh come on, this is so much worse!"

"Negative, you insisted that counted so I'm doing the same for this!"

She made a face. It was a game they'd been playing all week, 'Sneak Up On the Dragon' (ever the creative one was he), where they had to both try their best to sneak up on the other undetected and ambush them. He said since they both had two of the best noses in the world, it would be perfect training. "This game is dumb."

He smirked. "You hardly think it's _dumb_ when you get me. If I remember correctly, there was a little dance you did...I think it went a little like...," he kicked his foot out, spun on the other and snapped his free fingers four times, "where you said 'I. Love. This. Game!'"

Gray burst into laughter. Nina's frown disappeared and she looked away, covering her mouth with her hand to hide her giggles, "Yea...well...oh _Gods_..!" the smell on her palm literally knocked her off her feet. Both Ryu and Gray lost it.

* * *

"Don't lie, I can see right through you, Gray!" Ryu laughed, stabbing a smoking piece of meat with a stick and bringing it to his mouth. "You guys didn't take this thing on your own."

"Be tru I promise! Ask Nina!" Gray cried, pointing at her with his slab on a stick then taking a bite out of it.

Nina took three full bites of hers at one time. She nodded confidently with chipmunk cheeks.

"They're lying Master Ryu, I saw exactly what happened," Merybel said haughtily, sitting at a small table and chair she had conjured up for herself. She cut her meat on a plate with a knife and fork and daintily nibbled on it. "It was already almost dead when they found it."

"Aw really? I thot ya liked me, Mery!"

"Mery you're so _rude_."

"It's _rude _to lie to Master!"

Ryu guffawed. "This is why I like Mery more than anyone!"

Nina stuck her tongue out. Merybel mimicked.

"Oi Mery, dun be like that!" Gray cried.

The faerie flicked bits of meat at the Wyndian. Nina growled, teeth bared. Gray put a hand on one of her shoulders, Ryu the other. "Now, now, settle down puppy. Merybel stop instigating," said Ryu.

"That dummy started it!"

"Don't you have more important things to do than argue with me?" Nina asked icily.

Merybel crossed her arms. "Give me a break, I'm almost done with your stupid earrings."

"Speaking of that, weren't you 'almost done' two days ago?" Ryu asked the fuming faerie. "The more we stay in one area, the more-"

"-dangerous it is, I _know _that, Master, but I'm having to use my _own _energy the create these, unlike last time where I could simply channel from my realm. Give me two days at the most and we can get out of this place before winter truly hits us," she said with a shiver.

"Hate ta break it to ya, but tha part o' tha desert we gonna come out at, is a pola' one, still gonna be cold fo' ya."

Nina's eyes lit up. She forgot her quarrel with the faerie, "Will there be snow?"

"Aye, but ya ain't gonna hafta wait too long ta see snow, tha green moon be king for a few days now, I wouldn't be surprised if'n we see it t'night!"

"Really? I hope so! I've never seen it occur naturally!"

Gray shook his head, "I tell ya I seen way too much of it. Was born wit it fallin' on me head."

"Can I stand watch tonight, Ryu? Please, please, please?"

Ryu shrugged, "Do as you like, I'll gladly sleep."

Gray laughed, "It'll still be there in tha mo'nin, Nina, it be too cold up here fo' it ta melt, even in tha sunlight."

"Don't care, I'm taking Ryu's turn."

"Yeah, there's no need to talk her out of it."

"Aight, aight. I dig."

Merybel finished eating and dove into a tiny pair of ruby earrings lying next to Nina's sleeping bag after sticking her tongue out at her one last time. Gray and Ryu said their "good nights" and slipped into theirs. Nina perched in position on a branch high above the camp.

It wasn't alright for Nina to hunt by herself, she _could, _however, stand watch. Not much was able to get past her senses now aside from the occasional crawling bug. She'd already caught four bandit parties this week, two of which didn't stumble upon them accidentally. The routine was to find them and alert Ryu. She was to never fight, no matter how weak the enemy seemed unless he was near or it was dire.

Ryu killed all the bandits. He had to. None could live to tell about the black wings.

His ways weren't bothering her like they used to, and it was only partially because of the dragon inside. Killing Vahn had helped her understand. Because of her actions, there was one less thing for to live in fear of, and she lived in relief of that everyday since.

She leaned back in the tree, stared up at dark clouds bullying the sides of the moons.

The only precipitation to ever hit Wyndia was rain; temperatures never dipped low enough to turn it into snow. Lucius used to tell stories to her and Ethan about seeing lots in his travels; how it made the world look like the gods placed a sparkling white blanket over it, that there were few more beautiful sights than the emerald moon illuminating a snow smothered forest.

Ethan had always said they'd find one to look at, together.

She pulled her knees close. He didn't deserve the place in her heart she couldn't seem to find a more worthy tenant for and neither did...

Chasta.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't wrap her head around why her friend had turned on her. There had never been any conflict between the handmaiden and her family, at least none she had ever witnessed, and sure, the two of them fought at times as all friends do, but what did she do to warrant such_ hatred_?

Chasta was introduced to her at the age of eight as a playmate by her father. Nina admitted now she only knew Chasta had come from outside of the castle, nothing of her family except they "weren't around". She had been wild looking then, Nina remembered, the young Wyndian had concluded she had played outside too hard, and her mother had forgotten to give her a bath. Still the girl was friendly, and seemed taken with her instantly.

Lucius would always follow them to the playroom, out to the courtyard...would stand outside her door when they were in her room. If it wasn't him, it was Ethan, always insisting on being part of their games, always butting into their business,

Always watching.

Sparkles flitted by Nina's face and she looked up. Snowflakes sizzled on her warm cheeks, turned to mist on the tip of her nose. She stood as the dark clouds surrounding her bottomed out.

Ryu and Gray made everything easier to bear, traveling with them was...fun.

Slivers of the moon's light cut through the clouds, transformed snowflakes into sparkling emeralds in the sky. Nina listened to the soft padded sounds they made hitting the leaves covering the ground. It reminded her of the white forest of death she had taken refuge in from the Kaiser.

Ryu was treating her like a comrade. Gray, an old friend. They laughed with her, included her in their banter, gave her a respect she never before thought she was honestly entitled to.

Patches of white collected on what leaves remained on the trees and on the ground where there were breaks in the branches. Nina scooped some up, let the powder that didn't melt, fall through her fingers. Down below the tree, a family of chipmunks scrambled to grab what nuts they could before they disappeared for months to come. Birds filled their beaks with berries from frost covered bushes.

And Ryu's soul. Her hero in a child's disguise.

_Hero is a strong word, Na'vie._

"It's true," she said warmly, holding her hand to her heart. "You'll never convince me otherwise."

Silence.

It made him uncomfortable for her to fawn on him too much, she knew, but didn't care. She couldn't help how she felt about the little guy.

"Tell me, as a child- - er whelp, did you ever make snow angels?" asked Nina, "I've seen pictures of children in books making them. I always wanted to; it looked fun!"

_Snow never touches Drogen. By the time I was around any, play was a distant memory. _

"I'll go make one for the both of us then!" she promised, jumping from her perch and hopping down branches to the frozen floor. On all fours, she scoured the immediate area for enough snow accumulation to play around with.

_Shouldn't you be watching over the woren and my body?_

"Those kids in the books were laughing like it was the greatest thing in the world!" she cried, breath coming out in puffs. Powder clung to her bangs, felt cool . "Come on, didn't you think it'd be fun to do with a friend?" She skid to a stop in the middle of a clearing.

_I...never thought about it._

"Well now you can honestly say you accomplished it!" She spread out her arms and fell back into a mound of snow. As she sunk into whiteness, she moved them up and down to make the... She stopped, stared at the snow's menacingly dark creators looming above. Water dripped down the sides of her face from her dragon skin melting the thick flakes on contact. "...hmmm," she murmured with a laugh, blinking them back from her eyes, "No need to make wings with my arms if my own surely did it for me, huh?" No response. She made a face. "And this isn't very fun either, is it? Maybe I'm silly for thinking putting my back on snow would invoke a sense of entertainment unparalleled by anything, huh? Those human kids looked so damn _happy _though...," She cocked her head, "Then again, was it a drawing? Maybe it was a drawing, that would explain everything!"

There it was, that rare, infectious laugh of his. _You are certainly the quirky one._

"Really? _Me _quirky?"

Something blocked the snow; she was forced to focus on real Ryu's yellow stare. "Who are you talking to?" he asked, standing over her.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" she asked him without getting up.

"Why aren't you at your post?"

"I was going to come back right after I made a snow angel, I swear."

"A what?"

"The book said it was fun but it really wasn't."

"What book?"

Nina sighed, "A book of lies apparently," she sat up, shaking off the snow caking her wings. "Don't worry, I'm alright. I fell on my wing a bit here just now, sorry if it woke you up."

Ryu sat down near her. "I wasn't asleep."

"How come?"

"Just wasn't. You never answered, who were you talking to?"

"Oh. That again? Myself."

He paused, "Talk to yourself frequently?"

Nina held out hands covered in scales to catch the dancing sparkles. This way, they didn't melt. "Ok, so a friend."

Ryu had his bare arms draped over his knees. "A friend."

"Yeah. I might consider him that," she said, looking past him into the forest. The gods' blanket was rapidly thickening.

His chin rested on the edge of his forearm. "Do you...talk to this 'friend' often?" he asked, eye swiveling to her.

She shrugged, "Depends." She knew he heard the skip in her chest.

Not once had they actually sat down and talked about the mental repercussions of them both harboring part of the other's soul other than the obvious dangers the Kaiser brought. Then again it wasn't like Ryu to ever volunteer talking about anything heavy. "Why?" her voice cracked.

The eye didn't leave her. Chunks of snow from the mound collecting on top of his now black tipped navy hair fell onto his shoulder. "Only wondering."

Nina reached up and brushed a bunch from her own head. "W-what about you? Got any friends you talk to?" His talked to her, so of course she assumed hers did the same. _What _it would talk about, Nina had no idea.

Godsdamnit he _had _to be listening to her heart's anxious rumba...

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Would she? Yes, I suppose she would be something of that nature now." He stood, her eyes followed him. Since neither of them needed coverage in even this kind of weather, he wore only a short sleeved red shirt of Gray's and the torn remnants of the pants he stole back in Chamba. "Forgive my hesitation, for I am not used to that word." He spread his feet, did lunges to stretch his legs.

Nina stood too; he didn't warm up without a reason. "Need me to tire you out?" she asked, actually glad he didn't want to talk anymore. At least when sparring, she knew what responses to expect from him.

He smiled and fell back into the shadows, "I like that I didn't have to ask."

The dragon inside of her loved to interact with Ryu in this way. And maybe...she did too; he seemed generally happy when his blades did the talking for him. It was a game, calculating where he would be and what he would do next, and it taught her a plethora of things about him she would have otherwise never noticed. Things like: He highly favored his left side, his mouth twitched ever so slightly in the direction he was going to dash a millisecond before he did, and eighty percent of the time they traded blows, he opened from the back.

She turned and caught both of his blades in crimson hands when he fed that statistic yet another percentage. She kicked up, aimed to knee his chin, missed when he leaned back. Her black monstrosities threw her into the air in retreat, but the snow was coming down too hard for her to hover so she had no choice but to land back down. Hands, knees sunk into whiteness. Her eyes cut the air; she couldn't see a goddessdamned thing in this mess. She stood, a dark arm wrapped across her chest and grabbed her shoulder. She threw her head back, he caught it in his hand before it slammed into his face. Scaled feet went into the ground, white hands slunk back, gathered a good grip on the back of his collar. Ryu swept her legs out from under her before she could attempt to throw him over her shoulder and took her down with him on an adjacent snow dune. He rolled onto his back, held her firmly on top of him. Nina grabbed one of his blades before it slit her throat, broke it off, and whirled around to jam it through his-

Her ears pricked at something in the bushes near them. Both dragon's noses went to work sifting through all the new smells the snow was giving everything. Was it a woren? Smelled a little like Gray but...there was something else...an animal? The bushes quivered. Nina got up off of Ryu. Both crouched and disappeared.

A moan drifted between the leaves, followed by a weak, definite animal whimpering. Nina stepped forward, Ryu grabbed a hold of the bottom of one of her wings and pulled her back. She slapped his hand away, making a face. He shook his head at her and started towards the bush, flexing the arm with the broken blade to jump start its regrowth. Chunks of powder fell from the top of the frozen foliage as it rustled again.

Nina gasped and covered her mouth as the most wounded canine she had ever seen staggered out of it, holding the onyx hair of an unconscious gray woren girl in its jaws. It dragged her a few wobbling steps and collapsed. Nina exited the shadows despite Ryu's excited hissing to not. "Hey are you alrig-?"

She swore the dog consciously took a good look at her wings before it dropped its mouthful of hair and started gnashing at her madly. The woren moaned, twitched. Nina backed away slowly with her hands out. "Whoa buddy! I'm not trying to cause any trouble!" In its current state, the tan and orange furred wolfish dog wasn't necessarily menacing, especially to the creature she had become, but she'd heard stories of how protective man's best friend could be of their masters and this seemed to be no exception.

Ryu came into view beside her, dropped down on all fours, and growled something serious at the animal. It's head snapped to the dragon. Nothing more escaped its muzzle. "Let's go. We can't help her. She'll wake up and see your wings and we'll have to kill her anyhow. I refuse to be cruel."

Nina stared at the girl on the ground. One of her legs was bent the wrong way. "She's got silver fur. What if Gray knows her?" Bandits were one thing, but she'd never forgive herself for leaving a civilian out in this weather to die. "I'm taking her to Merybel." Nina said, defiantly walking by Ryu and gently picking up the woren in her arms. The dog ignored her, still staring intently at the blue haired dragon. "Grab the dog. He probably got all those wounds protecting her. Least we could do is help him too. If you say 'no', I'll conveniently not hear it."

Ryu snorted at the boldness that was starting to become the norm with her. "I hope you know what you're doing," he turned to her disappearing back.

The canine before him stood slowly with great effort, never taking its copper gaze from the dragon. Ryu couldn't help but smile a bit as it walked forward through the snow gingerly with its head held high. "I see you need no assistance," he commended to the little warrior.

It growled under its breath at him.

* * *

"Kittah? Kittah what tha hell ya doin' all tha way out 'ere? Oi, Kittah wake up!"

"Stop it, dummy! Let her wake up on her own!"

"I wanna kno' who did this ta ya _right now_, Kittah! Wake up—ow! Tha hell, ya damn faerie!" Gray clutched a singed shoulder and glared at Merybel.

"She's not going to wake up as fast as you did when I healed you last! I've been pouring everything I have into those damn earrings for the other dummy's wings; you're lucky I had enough left over to do anything!"

"I ain't gonna stop, she's me damn sista!"

"Really? Gee you've only told me _five thousand times_!"

"Both of you stop!" Nina cried, pushing Merybel and Gray away from each other.

"You can't tell me to do anything!"

"Dat's me _sista_!"

"All of you, _quiet_!"

Everyone turned to Ryu standing with his arms crossed and brows furrowed. "Gray, calm down, Mery's right. Mery, _Mery,_ I'm serious, stop talking, and you, stay out of it you'll only make it worse."

Merybel's nose went to the air, her attention went to the injured dog. Gray reluctantly sat back against a tree. Nina did the same. She eyed the woren girl lying comfortably in Gray's sleeping bag underneath a makeshift roof of branches and Ryu's bag.

Kittah, as Gray had called her, looked a hell of a lot better than she did before Merybel got a hold of her. A broken leg, a shattered arm, two cracked ribs, a black eye, countless burns and cuts... Looking at damage like that close up, tugged at her heartstrings. If she was a day older than her, Nina was a curr's uncle. One of her gray ears twitched, it was missing a chunk below a gold hoop.

Gray's perked. "Kittah, ya awake?"

The dog's paws scraped against the ground in its excitement to get to the groggy woren. "Hey I'm not done!" Merybel cried after it.

"Kittah! Who tha hell did this to ya, huh? Tell me!"

Two blue eyes like the one Gray let stay visible slowly opened. The dog nuzzled into her hair with a whimper. "Huh? Wolfie? S'ok...I jus' was restin' me eyes..." She looked through long, scraggly black strands over at Gray. "Caleb? Iss'at ya ugly mug? Wh-what?"

"What happened ta ya, Kittah? What're ya doin' all tha way out 'ere?"

She blinked, paused, it looked, to get her thoughts in order. It only took a few seconds before she bolted upright. "Caleb! Thank tha Tigress! I was headin' ta look fo' ya!" she cried, grabbing his shoulders.

"What? What's goin' on? It's Ma ain't it?"

Kittah shook her head. "No! Well, ya...but..." she took a deep, shaking breath.

"What?"

"Yuistel's gone."

Gray's brow furrowed. "Whaddya mean '_gone'_?"

"As in ain't nothin' left! Theys destroyed it all."

Gray blinked. "Who?"

"Few days ago tha Huntas came runnin' inta town screamin' 'bout monstas chasin' them on tha Hunt. These two guys showed up an' wasted tha place-"

"Jus' two guys? Was they AG? An' what about Ma?"

The woren shook her head. "Naw, not AG. They spoke foreign an' looked-" her eyes went to Nina and stopped. Her silver jaw dropped. "The, th-th-th- Black-!"

Gray grabbed her cheeks and made her face him, "It ain't whatcha think, don't worry 'bout her, tell me about Ma!"

She looked to Ryu, and dropped her hold on Gray. Snow and sleeping bag bunched up as she kicked herself away from her brother back against the tree her roof was attached to. "Him!" she cried pointing. "Knew I smelled somethin' familiah! Got them yellah peepas too! Caleb what're you doin' with tha Black Wings an' one o' _them_?"

Gray nodded at his navy haired friend. "Naw, Kit he's fine too, don't worry-"

"Wait, two guys that smell and look like me?" Ryu asked, kneeling down.

Kittah narrowed her eyes at him. "Yous dark like 'em too, 'cept theys had lighta hair..."

Ryu murmured something to himself. Nina's ears caught it and her spirits went to the sky. "Dragons? In this day and time? That's the news we've been waiting for, right?"

Ryu's eyes met Kittah who couldn't seem to tear hers away from him. "Were they wearing strange armor?"

The woren girl swallowed and nodded. The dog nuzzled into her arm. "It had all kinds'a glowin' tubes n' stuff on it. Theys could go invisible, Caleb...what sorta creature can do that?"

"No mistake. It's definitely dragons."

"So let's go find them!"

"What were ya gonna say 'bout, Ma?" Gray pressed, "She's tha only one besides ya I care 'bout in that damn gray cat town, ya know that!"

Kittah finally looked somewhere other than Ryu. "Ma's gone Caleb. B-but it ain't the monsta guys' fault," she added quickly when her brother started to growl. "She was sick ya kno'...passed away a few months back."

The growl stopped. His ears drooped, "...Really?"

"But that ain't what I had ta find ya fo'! Those guys, theys went headin' toward Shyloh's village. I tried ta stop them, but...well ya saw what happened ta me."

Gray's ears flattened back, "Are ya positive?"

She nodded. "I knew ya'd wanna know. Thank the gods I found ya so early too, maybe we can make it befo' anythin' happens."

The silver woren turned to Ryu, didn't hesitate to ask, "Bro, Nina, I got a big fava ta ask of ya."

"No way! I ain't travelin' 'round wit tha Raven Princess an' a damn dragon!" Kittah cried, "Are ya mad? Ya still haven't explained ya'self!"

Nina's hands went to her hips. "I'll have you know, the horrible 'Raven Princess' saved your life."

"No, _I _saved her life!" Merybel cried, flying in front of Nina.

"Excuse me, you wouldn't have saved anything if I hadn't brought her here!"

Kittah's eyes widened, "Ya kiddin', a real, live faerie? Caleb what's goin' _on_?"

"Our goal is Drogen in time, but to know other dragons, even dark ones, are so close... I can't ignore it. Allow me some interrogation time with them, and I'll help you all you need."

"Are ya serious, Bro?" Gray cried, breaking a wide smile.

Ryu nodded. Nina made a _pshh _noise. "You helped with Zeth; what kind of friends would we be otherwise?" she asked waving her hands at Merybel. The faerie slapped them away. Nina grabbed and yanked a handful of pink hair. Ryu moved to separate them, barking sternly to them both.

"It'll mean a lot," Gray said, then faced his wide eyed sister watching the commotion. He took a deep breath, "I kno' its gonna be hard, but I need ya ta sit back an' be quiet fo' a spell, Kittah. I gots lotsa explainin' ta do."

* * *

**A/N: **Wow I really apologize for the wait and for the shortness of this chapter. (short to me lol). Had a little bit of writer's block and then decided to go back and fix old chapters of this to help it flow better and that took longer than anticipated. :( I will be spot patching them in for the next few weeks. I didn't change anything really, just cleaned up Gray's accent, shortened up some of the earlier chapters, and tweaked some dialogue. Thank you so much for all the continued support!

I drew a cover for Benevolent Monsters! (check my profile for a link to my deviantart site) It's only a pencil version though. I want to try to ink it when I get drafting pens. Tell me what you think!


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-one**

_Promise Me Now That You'll Teach Me Everythin' I Need Ta Kno' 'bout Them Dirty Bastids So I Can Figgur Out How I'm Gonna Kill 'em Dead._

"Sorry ya kno', fo' badmouthin' ya," said Kittah in her Gray-esque accent to Nina, looking up from the cup of hot tea she was nursing in her paws.

Nina shrugged. "I know what I am. What more should I expect?"

"Ya got mo' ta worry 'bout than I could eva dream of."

It was apparent Gray's judgment ranked high. After the inevitable initial shock, it didn't take much to convince his sister that yes, Ryu and Nina were in fact the beings of prophecy, but were not bent on destroying the world as it so colorfully stated.

At least not intentionally.

"An' sorry ta ya too," Kittah looked to Ryu, "Sorry havin' half o' them bastid's blood in ya makes ya smell like 'em. I shoulda thought sumnthin when I ain't seen no suit."

The dragon's back was against a tree, his arms folded across his chest. "I've never worn one of those horrid things."

"'God armor'...," Nina murmured, taking a sip of her own tea. Ryu's eyes flickered to her.

The snowstorm had lightened drastically; the dark clouds above were thinning out, allowing more moonlight free to beautify the frostbitten landscape.

"How did ya manage ta get away from 'em, Kit?" Gray asked, digging their old campfire out of the snow. Nina kept the damp mess ignited with magic. "Ya leg was...," he shuddered, probably remembering his jaw.

Kittah smiled. "I be a Bloodclaw too, Caleb. An' tha leg thing happened afta tha fact," she added sheepishly, "I ain't as graceful o' beast as I thought, I reckon."

"So you are a Weretiger as well?" Ryu asked.

"Weretiga?"

"'e means ya kno' how ta use tha Beast."

Kittah's brows unfurrowed. "Oh, ya. Mebbe not as good as Caleb, but I kin use it enuff ta keep meself from keelin' ova." She looked down to the dog lying against her, partially covered by the sleeping bag her lower half was in. "'Lil mangy mutt did all 'e could ta protect me. 'e's such a _good _boy, ain'tcha Wolfie?" She lovingly cooed. It made a happy little yip.

"He was beat up pretty bad when we found you," Nina said, admiring the attachment the two had. She sighed and voiced it, "My father couldn't stand the thought of sharing his quarters with any sort of animal, so I was never allowed one. Not even something small like a cat. I always hated him for that."

"This'un jus' kinda came ta me," Kittah's face was buried in the dog's furry torso. "''e showed up few years ago. Actually I swear ta tha Tigress e'd been stalkin' me fo' weeks befo'hand, but it wasn't 'till I saw 'im in tha bushes eyein' a kill I made in tha woods one day did I really notice 'im. I gave 'im a bit o' tha meat an' 'e ain't left me side since."

Gray reached out and pat it on the head. "Ya been watchin' 'er in me absence, yeah? Thanks 'lil bro."

Ryu walked over and took his sleeping bag off of their makeshift roof. "If these really are dark dragons we're after, we're going to need plenty of rest," he said, shaking snow from it.

"Naw, I ain't goin' ta sleep 'til ya tell me all I need ta kno' about 'em," Gray said, standing up. "Kittah, Nina, ya both git ta snoozin'. Guardin's my duty tonight." Before Nina could object, the gray cat motioned for Ryu to follow him out of the camp.

"You stood watch last night!" protested Nina after them, "You'll be a zombie tomorrow!"

"'e won't sleep, not wit Shyloh in danga."

Nina turned back to Kittah. Snowflakes now able to pass through the branches stacked over her head were a stark contrast to her pitch black hair. "Who's this Shyloh to him?" she asked, "A friend?"

"If it only be that simple," the woren girl said, watching her brother and Ryu disappear into the trees through the steam rising from her cup, "That girl used ta be 'is lovah."

* * *

"Tell me everythin' ya kno' 'bout 'em, Ryu, 'an don't spare me no details, I ain't got time ta be confused 'bout nothin'."

Ryu watched Gray's cool attitude melt away as he paced back and forth, his over sized boots (they had to be to carry the sort of feet worens possessed) creating anxious trenches in the snow, his hands jammed into the pockets of the black hooded jacket he was wearing. Even if he told the cat everything there was to know about his dark brethren, it wouldn't change the fact they were probably already too late to save whoever he wanted to save. Ryu's only hope was on their way there, they would run into the dragons backtracking from wherever this remote village was.

"I ain't kiddin', Ryu, git on wit it'!"

"You realize we might be too late. The dark dragons of my day were viscous- do not underestimate me when I say that word, Gray- and they have the technology to make themselves faster and stronger than anything you've ever imagined and I'm sure it's evolved a bit since I last had dealings with any." A pained look surfaced Gray's facade, but Ryu wasn't about to lie to spare him. "Unless the person you're trying to save is a dragon themselv-"

"Ya eva been in love before, bro?" Gray snorted and shook his head before Ryu could retort. "'Fergit I asked ya. Sealed fo' five hunnard years...sharin' a body wit that some'bitch Kaisa? When tha hell would ya have had time fo' a woman, eh?" Gray walked over to a frozen puddle of water near them and angrily smashed one of his giant boots through it. His distraught reflection met him. "She ain't a product o' no god's wrath, but she ain't weak neitha. Shyloh be tha leada of tha Shamans' daughta! Sh-she...I-" He squeezed his eye closed, ran his forearm hard across it. "I wanna believe she's alive, bro, but I tell ya, I kno' afta meetin' ya an' Nina, it ain't likely." His broad shoulders trembled, a gut wrenching sob forced its way through his clenched jaws. "I-I'm sorry...she...she be tha only one who'd make me like this, I swear by tha Tigress..."

"I can give you time to mourn, if you wish."

After a few more sobs, the big cat managed to pull himself together. "No," he sniffled loudly. "I won't 'til I kno' fo' sho'." He turned his head to Ryu, tears escaped from his eye patch, trickling off the ends of his whiskers. "If'n we run inta them befo' we git there, promise me ya ask 'em what theys did ta her. Make 'em tell ya every last detail even if it—even if it—_no matter what happened_." The one eye Ryu could see burned with a fury that for a brief moment made the Kaiser flash in his mind. "'An promise me now," he growled, gruffness all but taking over his voice, "That you'll teach me everythin' I need ta kno' 'bout them dirty bastid's so I can figgur out how I'm gonna kill 'em dead."

Ryu knew nothing of love, but could write a library on revenge.

He held his hand out, Gray took it fiercely into his. "You got it, bro," the dragon said with a smile.

* * *

Nina's eyes were wide, but why should she be surprised? Gray wasn't a kid.

Firelight danced on Kittah's fur. "Shyloh Clearwater, tha shaman princess. Do ya kno' much 'bout shamans, Nina?"

The Wyndian drank a sip of minty brew, listened to the crackling campfire. "Not really. I've heard my father call them barbaric a few times, that's it. Couldn't explain to you why."

Kittah rubbed Wolfie's ear again, he leaned into her hand with his tongue lolling out. "Mebbe a lil' barbaric...'bout as much as us gray cats I sup'pose," she said shrugging. "I'll tell ya wat I kno'. There be three types o' shamans. Tha ones wit tha powa ta manipalate wat grows in soil, tha ones close ta animals, an' tha ones like Shyloh, the 'Fusah's'."

"Fusers?"

"A bettah word fo' it prob'ly be 'Enhanca's'. Theys has tha powa ta 'fuse' wit any person who kin handle it, an' enhance any 'bilities theys might have. All tha sorts o' shamans live mixed togetha in three separate villages, but Shyloh's tha largest. It be pretty near Yuistel, Caleb an' I would see it all tha time in tha horizon when it be our turn wit tha huntin' party." Kittah absently pet the dog again, bright blue eyes staring out past Nina at the small, shimmering dunes of snow littering the forest floor. "We met Shy when we's grew enuff balls ta break away from tha group 'an take a closa look at tha place covahed in all tha -'Magikal Plant Junk' Caleb called it- an' saw 'er right outside o' it, outta view o' any guards at tha bottom o' a hill castin' some sorta spell on a flowa that wasn't doin' nothin'. Caleb made fun o' her. I scolded 'im." Tears dropped off the corners of those blues. She didn't bother with them.

"She wanted ta be a Geomanca so bad. Enhanca's be born too few an' far between. Theys always sought out, sold for theys usefulness, forced ta fuse wit people doin' terrible things." Kittah paused. "Caleb wouldn't stop talkin' 'bout 'er. 'That hair',' those piercin's'. All shamans got a lot o' piercin's 'specially on tha face. He went back ta that hill almost ev'ryday lookin' an' findin' 'er fo' eleven years straight. On tha twelfth, 'e learned she was gitten made ta marry a man from anotha village."

Nina's heart sank. _"Arranged marriages be tha devil, girlie, believes me." _He _did _know what he was talking about.

Kittah lowered her eyes. "It's why 'e ran away. 'e decided theys ain't nothin' left in tha north fo' 'im I sup'pose. Kissed me an' mama an' left without turnin' back." The dog yawned and Kittah's black paw glided over its belly. "I ain't angry 'bout it if that's what ya wanna ask, I didn't blame 'em. I grew up watchin' 'em both fall in love wit eachotha so I undastood mo' than anyone could. 'e always said 'e would come back fo' me afta 'e made enuff ta anyways." Her small frame shook. "Ya kno' ya neva heard a bad word from Shy 'less ya messed wit someone she loved. She was always so nice ta us, preparin' medicine fo' mama's pain, teachin' me all 'bout plants n' paintin' all tha pictcha's lookin' at 'er village always made me wanna bring ta life...even afta Caleb left...an' she was wit..." she paused awkwardly. "S-sorry Nina. I dun mean ta go on like this when we's jus' met." The dog pawed at her, whimpering. She hugged it. "Naw s'ok Wolfie, I be fine in time."

"No need for an apology," Nina said, "Now that I know she means so much to you both, I want to help even more."

Kittah's smile was overcome with grief. "I kno' I said I was happy I found Caleb so soon so we could do sumnthin...but..." She hugged the dog tighter. "I couldn't fight them glowin' bastids back in Yuistel. I had ta run away. It be a good thing mama's dead, that way I had no one I had ta protect." Tears dropped from her chin onto Wolfie. "But, Shyloh now, that girl'll stand tall n' fight no mattah who tells 'er ta back down..."

A part of Nina wanted to tell the woren not to give up, to give her some ray of hope to hold onto, but she didn't know her friend, and she didn't know those dragons.

She surely didn't like sound of those suits.

_"(They) synced perfectly to every system in the body. Gave the wearer the same effect as transforming into the Myrmidon. Incredible speed, lighting reflexes, the strength of an army at their fingertips..."_

"I think...I outta go ta bed now, 'aight Nina?" the woren girl said abruptly, quickly readjusting her sleeping bag and getting into it. Nina picked up her sobs clear as if she hadn't just zipped it up.

The Wyndian downed the rest of her tea and arranged her own pallet. Chewing on a single dreamroot -because how was she supposed to get any sleep with that as her background?- she got into her bag, glancing in the direction Ryu and Gray had gone before fully settling in. No sign of them. She swallowed the root and laid her head back. Thank the Goddess Merybel said she was spending the next few days inside those earrings; the last thing she wanted was to hear that screeching voice.

It was still just barely snowing. She allowed the sizzles of flakes landing on her cheeks to lull her into an herbal laced slumber where dark dragons in suits with lights on them like the ones in Chamba that curled into words on the buildings floated away from her worries.

* * *

In just one night, everyone had changed.

Ryu's playful attitude was gone, his stealth game forgotten.

Gray wore a perpetual smoldering mask of stone.

Kittah became a sporadic whimpering into Wolfie's fur wreck.

And Nina, never one to anticipate the unknown, felt her dragon blood simmering with a frighteningly intriguing excitement all the same.

For half the day the party trudged through the snow filled forest towards Lhan, the largest of the shaman villages. The village each of them knew in the back of their mind they probably were going to find in shambles, splattered with the blood of Gray's former lover and Kittah's friend as well as everyone else having the unfortunate fate of living there. Even more so after some of the stories Ryu told.

He had long since finished rambling off warnings of things he could remember about fully dark dragons. He told Nina to not expect to be able to see them in stealth. It was hard for him to in his day and for all they knew, their armor could very well assist it now. "Expect the unexpected. I can't repeat this enough," he did indeed repeat. "And you," he had said specifically to Nina. "Don't try to be a hero."

So he was feeling it too, the Kaiser feeding off their eagerness.

_I will protect you. No matter what, I will stand my ground before him._

"It's things like that that make me adore you," whispered the Wyndian to her torso, clutching her own arm as if it were his. Kittah glanced her way.

With the sun directly above them, they reached a cliff overlooking Yuistel.

The past few months Nina had been with Ryu she thought surely she had already witnessed a lifetime's worth of carnage. Coming up on this atrocity proved to her that she had not, and would be a fool to think even this would be the extent of it.

Gray and Kittah took only a moment of silence at the edge. Even from there bodies could be seen lying in the streets, over piles of still smoldering rubble, outside of the gates where it looked some were clawing the ground in escape, their vivid blood painting everything...

"Whatcha do wit Ma afta she passed, Kit?" asked Gray gruffly, when they were on their way again.

"She ain't back there if that's whatcha worried 'bout," Kittah's reply was shaky, "Sh-Shy talked one o' them animal shamans tha turn inta a bird ta take 'er ashes ta tha sea. She wanted ta be as close ta Ironsides as she could be."

"Long as she ain't nowhere near them condescendin' fools, I be fine."

Kittah swallowed, said to her brother's drooped shoulders, "She watn't angry witcha ya know, she always said if'n she woulda been strong enuff she woulda joined our Pa out there jus' tha same. She said we got our worldly blood from 'im, an' didn't belong in that suffocatin' place noways."

Gray took a few dozen steps in silence before he murmured, "Thanks, Kittah."

"I ain't tryin' ta make ya feel good, I be tellin' tha truth."

"Even bettah."

Nina watched the two siblings bump shoulders lovingly, thinking of Isabella with a heavy heart.

_Think of it this way. The longer you are on the run, the more use they have of your sister alive._

Nina knew this. She also knew they could kill Isabella with the notion her rage would have her racing back right into their trap and they'd be _right._

_You mustn't torture yourself thinking that._

There wasn't much else she could do.

Another few hours passed. Clouds filled the sky with gray. Snow fell thickly. Nina wished she had bought another hooded cloak to run around in; she was getting tired of shaking her head to disperse the piles. Kittah seemed to be thinking the same thing, she was shaking hers irritably and continuously twitching her ears. Nina caught one of the times the snow got into the large cavities on the sides of her head and witnessed the hilarious shocked look she made when she hurriedly put her head to the side and smacked her other ear to get the foreign matter out, and laughed. Robustly. Stunned, Kittah looked over to the Wyndian crying jubilantly. Seeing Nina's scrunched and reddened face, the cat couldn't help but to be infected by her enthusiasm. Gray and Ryu looked back, some of the stone breaking off their expressions. "Kittah, Nina, ya nutty girlies, wat be ya two's prob-?"

Nina saw him in the distance clear as day, standing out in the middle of the snowstorm, not being touched by a single bit of it. His body hugging suit was black, his pulled back hair a long white blonde whip cracking into the skies. He dashed forward, became dazzling streaks of fluorescent red lights captivating her until he reached Gray and broke his neck.

She thought it was his neck, but it was really his arm. There was a lot going on; it was hard to tell what was what. Clothes shredded as two beast tigers burst forth, Ryu was screaming at them to stop. Kittah's leg shattered. Nina didn't see the hit, just her falling to the snow in agony. Wolfie yelped. There was the other one, a blur of blue burning into Nina's eyes kicking the dog into a tree. Ryu grabbed onto her arm. She screamed for Kittah and Gray to 'please stop they couldn't handle this!' when the red monster grabbed Gray's hulking form by the throat and held firm. Blue appeared at Kittah's side. She didn't dare move.

"Stop! Don't kill him!" Nina cried in old Wyndian. Then, "Stop! Please! Anything, just don't kill him!" in Draconian.

Without a word Red ported feet in front of her and Ryu. Ryu's grip on her arm tightened. It hurt. He didn't seem to notice. Nothing mattered but the two glowing ancient beings before them.

Red was tall, they both were actually, with lithe, lean bodies like Ryu. Their skin (what could be seen of it on their faces and necks) was slightly darker than his, both had hair so blonde it was almost glowing. And the eyes...yes, they were dragons alright. Gray struggled still in beast form, his good arm gripping the dragon's wrist. Powerful knees slammed his assailant's ribs in vain. Red settled piercing Ryu yellow eyes on Nina. She shivered, felt even the Kaiser's enthusiasm inside her retreat from this challenge.

He smiled and spoke.

Ryu and Nina stared back at him wordlessly. They didn't understand a word he said.

Blue said something off to the side. Nina didn't risk taking her eyes from Red. The long haired dragon, (Blue had a short Ethan-like cut), smile broadened. "Ah so we only know the old tongue. I do not like to speak it, for it is poisoned with the Lights' influence."

Draconian. Nina could only hope she could correctly translate herself to him. "Please, Red, err-" she stopped. "M-Mister..."

Blue laughed. Red smirked. Ryu's racing heart sent Nina's into overdrive.

Gray could barely lift his knees now. Kittah cried out for him and then in pain.

"Are we what you want?" Ryu let go of Nina and stepped forward. "If we are then let him go, he means nothing to you."

Just like in the distance, the snow didn't actually meet Red or Blue's forms. It must have been the suits, there was an aura, an invisible bubble keeping any element from touching them. Despite the danger before her, Nina took the time to marvel.

"Correct. He does mean nothing to me." Red said, fingers tightening.

Kittah screamed. Blue knocked a forearm against the side of her head. Nina started. "We'll do whatever you want, just let him go and don't hurt Kittah!" she cried. Ryu shook his head at her angrily.

Red laughed and surprisingly dropped the cat. Gray fell to the ground in his normal body, coughing and wheezing. Nina sighed in relief, then sucked it right back up when Gray staggered to his feet and swung a punch at the dragon. Without looking, Red deflected it with a sleight of hand. Faster than probably even Ryu could see, a black foot snapped one of Gray's legs. He went down to one knee and continued swinging with his good arm. Red raised an eyebrow at Ryu and Nina. "Does your friend wish to hasten death's hand?"

"Gray, stop it!" Ryu cried in common, "I haven't asked them about Shyloh yet! What if they didn't do anything?'!"

The cat snarled something inaudible and swung at Red's shin. He no longer had a good arm after that. His chin hit the ground in front of him when he lost his other leg after spitting on the monster. Madness burning in his eyes, he desperately chomped and spat out all the snow in front of his face, gnashing his sharp teeth when he could once again see his adversary.

Kittah was sobbing. Nina forgot to close her mouth. Ryu was visibly disturbed, but he didn't let it alter his voice. He looked up at the dragon, over his vastly different suit than the ones he remembered. There were still the tubes and the buttons, but everything was sleeker, more fit, less vulnerable. He remembered when he could pull those glowing tubes apart and watch his victim's strength flow out alongside his blood. Now they were embedded into deep grooves in the armor, safe from any hooked fingers or sharp claws. "Did you just come from a village north of here? One with shamans? He fancies the leader's offspring. Thinks you and your friend killed her."

So Ryu knew about it too, Nina thought.

Red looked confused for a moment. "Shamans? Oh yes those human looking creatures with the bright hair and all that metal business on their faces. Yes we ran into some. North of here? Was it north or east? I can't remember, hey Rowan where've we been?"

_Make 'em tell ya every last detail even if it—even if it—no matter what happened!_

Ryu's jaw clenched. He needed time to _think._

Blue –Rowan- spoke in their language. Red nodded. "My brother is right, our whereabouts shouldn't be your concern. I will answer your other question however. Yes, Half blood, you two _are _what we want."

"Why?" Nina blurted, "Why would you bother yourselves with us? You're dark dragons! Public knowledge is you don't exist! Are there more of you? A lot of you? You couldn't accept the reward for me, could you? Would it even be worth it to you? Or is this another 'I want a chance to challenge the Angel of Death' sort of thing?" she knew she was rambling, but surprisingly Ryu didn't counter her. Maybe he was thinking the same things.

Rowan spoke this time. His voice was softer than Red's, eerily calm for the fire in his eyes, "Any reward your feeble races could muster up would be laughable to us. We only wished to take a look at you today."

'Take a look'? Gray was maimed!

"She wished that we did so. It was also her wish that we do not engage you, but curiosity seems to have gotten the better of both of us. After all," Red's eyes and voice mimicked the intensity Ryu's almost always had, "who wouldn't want to be the first to gaze upon the face of his future Goddess?"

* * *

**A/N: **It's short, I know and I'm sorry :( But...rather than me taking forever trying to find the time to pump out those epic chapters I'm usually good for, I decided to put _something _out to show I'm still active :) Works been crazy, doesn't look like it's letting up soon and when we get into the holidays...ahh I don't want to even entertain that terrible thought...


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-two**

_Prepare For That Day as Well, For We've Spent Our Whole Lives Doing So For You._

"...Sorry?"

"...um, what?"

Nina and Ryu's melded voices reflected their bewilderment.

Red's lips parted into a smile. It, coupled with the black suit so perfectly attuned to his immaculate physique, made him look like a handsome Grim Reaper covered in tiny veins of glittering blood. He kicked snow onto Gray's still chomping muzzle and stepped toward Nina. She stiffened. Ryu swallowed and took a step forward. "Do not worry, your master is safe for now." Pausing to regard the quick flash of anger he caught in Ryu's seemingly emotionless face, the dark dragon leaned in close to Nina. Slender, ruby laced fingers twisted a scraggly red stained piece of her bangs in them. "If it makes any difference to you, o Lovely One, as your predecessor most adamantly adores to be addressed, I prefer long, luxurious hair on my deities. Though," He let go, the hair fell awkwardly askew to the rest. "I confess, I am not sure how long she'll deem appropriate for your conditioning. I suggest you not touch it until then, alright?" he lightly pat her shoulder and stood back. "And you, Destroyer." he said to Ryu. If the name meant anything, he didn't show it. "Prepare for that day as well, for we've spent our whole lives doing so for you."

"_You_...preparing for..._us_?" Nina couldn't help uttering when she realized he wasn't talking only of Ryu. Preposterous! How could they-

A flashback of Ryu lying broken and battered in the treetops reminded her why.

The dark dragon laughed, even using the harsh language of the dragons his voice still had the same strange poetic beauty Ryu's possessed. "The Kaiser isn't something to snub your nose at, o Lovely One. The Destroyer -as your guardian was known in his time- wrecked enough havoc to have his name mentioned quite a number of times throughout history." He turned back to Ryu. "There's a story young warriors are often told where he single handedly took out a fifty man light dragon camp without the help of our armor -he was too proud to use it-, relying only on shadow dances and what meager Myrmidon traits he could muster without the Kaiser devouring his already blackened soul." Ryu didn't waver in Red's intense stare. "Our Goddess' ancient army's trump card, a fragile minded killing machine relishing the blood of his enemies more than any woman's touch..."

And here they were both thinking _these_ guys were the monsters.

Red continued, "I know I should not anticipate the kind of ruthless power you exhibited in your prime, what with you only having half of that madness inside you." Part of Ryu's head was in the "bubble" around Red; snow was making an odd shaped pile on his crown. "but I do expect for you to put on a damn good show. You'll have to. You'll be fighting to the death to stop us from taking her away."

Rowan appeared behind Red. Nina noticed for the first time, they were twins. He said something to his brother hurriedly, his eyes darting to the skies. Red shook his head, barked something back. Nina took advantage of their distraction to check on Kittah. The blow to her head had forced her to revert forms. She held onto her torn clothes and busted leg, watching with large eyes Gray still cursing and trying his best to bite Red's feet.

Just as Nina glanced down at him, one of those feet slammed Gray's muzzle shut. Bloody bits of teeth scattered the ground.

"Caleb!" Kittah screamed. Gray twitched in a growing pool of blood. "Why ya gotta do that ta 'im, huh?! He ain't nothin' ta ya!" She turned to Nina, tears streaming down her hysterical face, "Tell 'em that, Nina! Ya'll his friends! Tell 'em ta stop hurtin' 'im!"

She was damn right she was about to tell them.

Ignoring Ryu's soul's frantic protests and the hand grasping her arm with its nails drawing blood, she strode forward and stood on her toes so she was nose to chin with Red. Rowan stopped mid-sentence to stare. "That woren is my friend," growled Nina slowly, feeling the Kaiser dip her words in the acid fury coursing within her before allowing them departure from her clenched teeth. "_Both_ are my friends, and if you're half as afraid of the Kaiser and me as I think you are, you'll leave them alone right now and get the hell out of my sight."

Ryu's hand fell from her. There was no rhythm to describe the torture she bestowed upon his heart. Kittah gawked.

Nina held Red in her crimson tinged gaze for a full minute, never faltering once. Both of the brothers' hearts were calm. Hers was a lost cause.

Finally, Red grinned. His teeth were longer than Ryu's. "Axel," he said, backing up with a respectful bow, "That is what I'm called. I look forward to our next meeting, my Lady."

And then they were nothing but fading lights in the air. Nina blinked. Behind her eyelids the glowing sinewy remnants of their suits objected to her mind's questioning on whether she had imagined their existence.

Ryu sank to his knees. Merybel, apparently having watched the whole thing from the earrings pinned to Ryu's cloak, popped out of them and went immediately to the heap of silver in the snow that was Gray without question. Wolfie staggered over and fell into Kittah's arms while she tearfully begged Merybel to save her brother.

Nina turned her head slowly to Ryu. The look on his face froze her blood solid.

He was _afraid._

"Ryu...I..."

He only stared at her in silence, letting that fear show through uninhibited by the invisible walls he always held between him and the world.

Nothing could have ever unnerved her more.

* * *

Zeth's lazy black eyes gazed past the bandages covering his nose and what parts of his torso he could see down at the communicator sitting upright on a table connected to his bed. Jaxx Roman's tanned bald head shined in the sun on the screen. He squinted his one good eye at Zeth. The other was sewn shut and sported a wicked scar making its way into black flames tattooed over that side of his face. "So you're done?" his raspy, cigarette violated voice asked dubiously, "What does Lyut have to say about this?"

"He's dead," Zeth drawled, sounding bored as always, "I no longer have the desire to put myself into a situation I know I will not come out victorious."

Zeth's counterparts were programmed to sacrifice themselves for him when it came down to it. Without that lunatic, Sesimhan's rantings made a lot more sense.

Jaxx shook his head. "First Ivory, now you. I wonder if I should pull Lesley out... Adelaide reported being near them as well." The big man sighed, wiping his hand through the sweat dripping down his sunburned cranium. Behind him, Zeth could see a blue ocean lapping at white sand. Seagulls screamed into the air. "I hate to send Luc out so soon. He's dying to have a go, but I'm afraid of the damage he'll cause. Maybe a trap out in the middle of the desert..."

"Don't ask anyone to talk to me if you don't want them to hear the truth."

"By all means, tell 'em the truth! I ain't happy about losin' Ivory, ya know?" Jaxx rubbed his fingers on the wiry gray hairs lining his jaw. "One of Ironsides' kids is with her, ain't they?"

Zeth nodded. "He would go if you told him."

"Nah. He might lose it around a dragon."

"Deception is Adelaide's forte. She might have a better chance than most."

Jaxx's coat colored eye shifted. "Alright. Thanks for contacting me. Heal up and think about changing your mind. I could pair you up with someone, two even. Want Lesley? Phoebe?"

"Thanks for your concern, but no thanks," Zeth said, cutting off the communicator and leaning back against his pillow.

Through a window in the wall in front of him, he could see the Wyndian girl Chasta sleeping.

The Angel of Death's wide glowing eyes flashed in his mind. His palms began to sweat.

Whatever they did, they needed to keep that girl as far away from the Angel as they could.

* * *

First Ivory, now Alabaster.

Ethan stared at his communicator's blank screen, sweat beading on his forehead. Two hits, Zeth said. Two hits and Lyut was dead.

How could Nina be capable of this? Even if she had all the power in the world her heart was, she was too innocent to-

He thought back to her teeth tearing into the wolfman's throat at her execution, her frying Ludia's advisor to a crisp, the hole in Ivory's neck...

The dragon had nothing to do with it, only her. Zeth had made that very clear.

And now both Lesley and Adelaide were reportedly in the mix. Jaxx even mentioned Lucas' name...

Hunter green eyes went down through rafters at Isabella sleeping soundly in her bed. Jaw hardening, he turned his communicator back on and scrolled down his contact list until the name _Phoebe_ was highlighted.

Gods help him, he wasn't going to last one more minute in this place.

* * *

"She's alive. She has to be," said Ryu, hiking Gray's unconscious body up higher on his back. Merybel didn't heal him completely, just enough to allow him to be carried safely.

"She? As in..._her_?" Nina asked incredulously. Wolfie pranced at her heels, head cocked. "H-how? Wyndians live longer than humans, but none have ever been recorded to live _that _long." Kittah was on her back, sleeping from the bit of dreamroot they'd administered to calm her down. Merybel was inside the earrings Nina so hastily had jammed into her now swollen earlobes, taking care of her wings. Thankfully after healing the siblings, the faerie had enough power to do so; if there were survivors in Lhan, the Black Wings would be the last thing they would want to see.

Snow continued to fall, Nina, Ryu and the dog had been hiking through shin deep powder for the past hour. "There was always something about her," he spoke in old Wyndian, as he always did when things meant only for her ears were said, "Her magic was too strong for her to be simply a Wyndian queen; she sealed me for _five hundred years! _Mighty unqueen-like spell if you ask me."

"She revived herself once," Nina said. Kittah's head lolled on her shoulder. "When she was my age she became queen and died all in the same year. She had a weak immune system and wasn't allowed to go outside most of her life. During her coronation she was said to have contracted something from the crowds; a common virus that to her might as well have been the plague. There was a funeral and everything. She was childless, so it created a stir over which of her uncles was going to take the throne. My ancestors started a fight, right over her coffin, in front of the whole country, and then she just kind of, sat up in the middle of it." Nina paused to shake snow from her head. Ryu's eyes were glued to her. "It's documented that she changed, noticeably. For one, she was healthy. _Insanely _healthy. Her doctors couldn't believe it. She said the Goddess had come to her in her hour of need to save her soul from eternal damnation as long as she promised to unite the world's races against all darkness. I guess that's when she had the dream about you and I destroying everything, I'm not sure. She led the really important battles, had a son somehow during all of it, and...everything's fuzzy to me after that, I'm sorry I didn't pay much attention to those old crones in Wyndia growing up." She looked to Ryu, frowning, "Why did the red one say I was their future Goddess?"

Ryu's face was dark.

He stopped walking and started to laugh.

and laugh,

and _laugh._

Nina stared at him. Tears rolled down his bronzed face. "Oh Ladon this is so godsdamn _amazing!" _he cried, almost dropping Gray. Wolfie growled. "Is this really what she's doing? I've scorned her _this _much she plans to make me her slave again half a century later?'!" His laughter boomed throughout the forest.

"What are you talking about?" Nina asked, glancing nervously around, "Quiet down! You'll wake the dead with that racket-!"

"Don't you understand? She wants to _be _you! Those dark dragons, blinded by her false promises... Ladon she probably believes _herself _the Goddess after a story like that. Of course she would ally with them, what other race would have the technology to keep her alive for as long as it took someone to find me underneath Wyndia?" he continued laughing, stopping only to take in necessary air, "She wants what the Kaiser has made you into; she wishes to cage me once again! Well I say she try! Let her come and do her worst! I survived it, I will survive once more!" Nina watched the laughter become fury, the glint in his eye morph into fire. "I'll be ready. Don't worry you bastards, I'll be more than ready for you," he spat through bared teeth.

"Alright," said Nina softly, for she understood his anger more than anyone, "We will be ready."

The Kaiser, dark dragons, the AG, the almost corpse of Nyna the Second being kept alive by technology Nina couldn't comprehend waiting to take over her cursed body... She was past questioning the things happening to her.

"_I _will be ready," he said shaking his head after taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to ebb his tremendous anger. "We will try our best to evade them until Drogen and get our souls back. You will become undesirable then, but me," he smirked, "Oh she'll have a lot to say to me."

Nina's eyes went wide. "Surely you aren't suggesting you take her and those dragons on your own! How do you know there aren't more? I won't let you!"

"Once you're free, why would you care?"

Her reply died on her lips. Why _would _she care? Sure they were tiptoeing together around the word "friend", but wasn't what she wanted in the first place was to get as far away from this dragon as she could? To get rid of this gods forsaken curse?

Frowning through something churning in her stomach, she nodded. "Give or take what needs to be done about my sister right? You promised."

"I remember. I remember everything I promise."

"Good."

They started to walk again. Wolfie cautiously padded a few paces behind.

"I remember the one I couldn't fulfill for him," Ryu muttered, nodding back to Gray. "I told him I was going to make those dragons tell us what they did to his girl."

"You tried, I can vouch!"

"I said I would _make _them," he growled.

"Oh Ryu, you mustn't think he'll blame you for that."

"Did you not see him? He knew he was throwing himself into death but he did it anyways for this person. How could I not respect him enough to try my hardest for something he felt so strongly about? You stood tall where I could not, Na'vie."

Nina's heart fluttered. She flushed when his one of his eyebrows raised, signaling he noticed. "A-ah w-well, you just said something that well..." she swallowed, wondering why she bothered to explain herself to him, "...well...you know... I guess," swallowed again at his strange stare piercing through her, "Only, you know, _good_ people say things like that, so I, I guess you know...well you _know _alright?'!" she finished hastily.

No response. He faced ahead and hastened his step. Nina couldn't help smiling at his awkward swagger. He was exactly like his soul.

By nightfall, they reached Lhan and to both of their relief, saw it was full of lights casting shadows on _living _people. Alive, but noticeably shaken by recent conflict. The village, just like Kittah had described, consisted of copious amounts of vegetation, or at least used to. Vines dotted with colorful flowers hugged every bit of the surrounding stone walls that weren't crumbled or burnt. In the tree tops above the village, charred, broken bridges made of the same vines connecting rooms built into the giant trees' hollowed out centers swung gently against their trunks. Candles flickered in the windows of almost every tree house. Scrawny, anxious guards patrolled the entrance; most didn't look like they had ever held a weapon in their life.

Sudden winds disturbed the torches lining the outer walls, causing shadows to leap around erratically. A few whirled and drew their swords. One struggled to pull his from his a loosely hung scabbard on his back and fell flat on his rump. "The dragons must've taken out their main defenses, these are kids," whispered Ryu, voicing Nina's thoughts, "If I go in there, these eyes of mine will only cause panic," he looked to Nina. "Can you handle them both?"

She nodded. "Kittah's a feather and Gray's not much more." She held Kittah in one arm and Gray in the other by their waists. "So," she asked, "how do I explain my ability to carry them?" Wolfie sat quietly, regarding her with interest.

Ryu shrugged. "Magic?"

"That isn't the answer for everything!"

"They wouldn't know."

"I think they might!"

Nina wished Kittah was awake so she could do all the talking. "People here know them, right? It should throw everyone off once they get recognized. Demand to see that Shyloh. Say it's their dying wish. Get the full story if she's dead. Promise me Na'vie."

"Yeah I got it, I promise," Ryu faded into the shadows. Nina stood, praying she wouldn't have a reason to relay anything to Gray. "Wish me luck," she said to his hazy form and burst out of the bushes, screaming HELP so loud half the guards dropped their weapons and the contents of their bladders.

* * *

Stella wasn't happy.

When she woke up, the little annoying blonde girl was gone along with the brunette she wanted to murder for knocking her out. She had groggily reached for her communicator to call Vahn when she noticed her reflection on a metal paperweight sitting on his desk _was _Vahn; she was transformed just like that little girl was! Frantically she tried to think of a way to get the spell off. She couldn't be Vahn! What was she going to do if someone came in there?

She didn't have to worry long about either thing. The door swung open just as the thought clicked, and the entire council witnessed her spell's expiration.

"'ey foxy girl, slide on ova this way, I wanna take a good look at ya."

"Piss off," she growled.

The council still hadn't found Vahn. He had never in his life missed a call from them. The only explanation was he had to be dead and who else but Stella could have done it? Treason! She'd overthrown the prince!

The cell she was in was filthy, and full of men cat calling at her. Lucky for them they were all chained too far away for her to reach.

She sighed. This was _not_ worth the few nights she spent with that pompous jerk sipping Chamba's most expensive wine...

"Come on pretty girl, I dun care ya off'ed tha prince, I ain't like him much no ways-"

"I said, _piss off_!"

She felt something slimy from the ceiling drip onto and roll down her shuddering back.

Someone was going to die for this.

* * *

**A/N: **I decided to go ahead and put this out. I've been on a creative roll lately lol. I'm going to be randomly updating my Deviantart page (Namithepiratethief) with drawings from each chapter of this story. I'm going to try for at least 1 per. Enjoy and thanks for staying with me!


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-three****  
**_She Ain't His Woman, She Be M__ine_!

_"Everyone in the village can stuff it; I don't care you're a woren!"_

That scent.

Perfume, flowers and earth.

_"Psssh, Bloodclaw? What of it?"_

Silky hair falling over his shoulders, sweet, tantalizing laughter tickling his ears...

_"I love you no matter what, Caleb. Skeletons and all."_

"Sh-Shyloh..."

Gray's eye slowly opened. A hand squeezed his. "Oh Caleb, ya's awake!" Kittah's jubilant voice. He made out blobs moving on either side of him, his pulse quickened when he registered a splash of minty green in the one to his left. He blinked. It became clearer. Kittah threw her arms around him. Her dog barked excitedly beside her.

"Sh—Sh-" Gray choked. Tears dripped off his chin onto his tightening chest. With a shaking paw, he slowly reached over and grasped a delicate white wrist.

Shyloh Clearwater, with her stormy eyes and lips soft as rose petals tore her arm away from him. Kittah looked up from Gray's soaked furry throat. "Wats tha matta, Shyloh?" she asked. The shaman woman rose from the stool she was sitting on beside Gray's bed and turned away, her long, lightly colored hair bouncing around her. "Shy?" No words. She was out of the door before Kittah finished her name. "I-I, she seemed really worried 'bout ya a minute ago Caleb, I swear, I-"

Gray pushed Kittah off of him and jumped out of bed.

* * *

Ryu watched snowflakes from the slacking storm drift lazily by him as he observed Lhan from his place in the shadows of a tree just outside of it. Guards had returned to their posts. Everything was quiet.

The branch he was on shifted, as though a cat had noiselessly landed on it. "We're good," came Nina's voice from her hazy approaching form, "Shyloh's alive." The dragon's eyes caught steam rising, his nose had already been focused on the scent. "Soup. It's not bad. Maybe a bit too much rosemary, but I'm not complaining." He picked up a large bowl and brought it to his lips. The mixture was gone in seconds.

"What about Gray?"

"Shamans have healers. Did you know that?" he shook his head. "Me neither. They asked who administered to him initially," Nina tore apart a roll in her hands, handed him half of it. "It's difficult to lie about magic you know nothing about, _especially _while pretending to be human of all things," she said with her eyebrow raised at him. "I said I did it, but most magic users can tell what sort of energy went into certain spells. I can tell it's faerie magic and if I can then I would assume someone devoting their life to the arts could too."

"Is it really so uncommon for humans to know magic? I remember them having users."

"Maybe in your day there were, I won't argue with you about what I know you know you saw, all I know now is that humans with even a fraction of Vahn's abilities are almost nonexistent. I had to say I was from some no name town on the outskirts of Ludia and Wyndia and was 'mystically' (she wiggled her fingers for effect) born with magic from being so close. I'm afraid I'm not so good at hiding my Wyndian accent when using common; they picked it up right away." She popped her bread in her mouth. One of her cheeks bulged.

"Well they bought it and that's all that matters." At least Gray was in good hands.

Nina swung her legs over the edge of the branch, had a little trouble swallowing her overzealous mouthful. "He can't do this kind of stuff again, Ryu, we can't afford to have a companion so reckless."

A half smile cracked through his features. "Says the pot calling the kettle."

"I'm serious, Ryu, it's not the same and you know it. The Kaiser is a damn good legitimate threat."

"Is it still not reckless nonetheless, Nina?"

Her head snapped to him. "Better than you standing there like a rock, what did you _want_ him to die-?"

She stopped and blinked.

Blinked again.

And suddenly her head was in danger of falling from her shoulders. "Hold on. D-did you just call me...?" she asked so softly he almost didn't hear her over her pounding heart.

"Nina. That's your name isn't it?"

"Ah, well, _ahem, _it's...you never...you've never..." She nervously played with the buttons on the cuffs of the long white shirt she was wearing. "_..._Why _now_?" Curious orbs searched him.

He shrugged, lips still holding a smirk. "You had some nerve facing the red dragon like you did."

Even through the haze of stealth, Ryu could see her face change color. "W-well _s__omeone_ had to do something! G-Gray was in trouble and Kittah, she was so _desperate _for someone to save her brother and I thought, what if that was Isabella and I was powerless to do anything to stop her torture and how I would wish for someone, anyone to come to my rescue..." her jawline hardened, evaporating some of the girlish embarrassment, "Now that I'm strong I want to stand up more often, Ryu. I want to stand up for anyone who can't do so for themselves. I'm sorry if it seems reckless, but I'm going to do it regardless of what you say..."

"Maybe I like that sort of nerve."

She bit her lip and quickly looked away from him, but not before he saw crimson paint slapped back onto her cheeks. Winds blew her scraggly bangs into her face. She pushed them back shyly, still swinging her legs in the flitting snow. Amber gazed out over the village. He listened to her try and fail to control her heart. "So...we're finally on a first name basis, huh? You sure you want to take that step? I-I don't mind if you don't."

Winds revealed his mark on the back of her neck. He stared at it for a long time before responding. "Your name is pronounced the same as hers. For a long time, I could not think it, much less say it. I apologize. Whether you believe it or not, I realize how selfish it was to call you only by your species for so long." He set the empty bowl in front of him. Moonlight shining through a break in the clouds over them illuminated a very detailed painting of an ice sprite covering the bottom. "Did my soul tell you what happened to my sister? I gather you might know some about it."

Wary, almost ashamed eyes came back to him. "I...yes. He did."

Ryu nodded. He figured as much. "That woman forced me to fight my own people. She hated 'contemptuous' light dragons and wanted all the dark ones opposing her eradicated. All for 'her own reasons'; Not the good of the world, not for her people, but for her own godsdamn deranged reasons. No one knew the absurdities she rambled to me behind closed doors."

Nina's eyes shifted again, she looked uncomfortable.

Ryu's voice darkened, "_I_ was responsible for the near extinction of the light dragons. _I_ thinned out the dark ones until there were mere hundreds of them left." Those eyes were now back on him, widening more with his every word.

"H-how?"

"You don't understand. You have my soul inside of you, _half _of my Kaiser is attached to you, I am _far_ stronger than what you have ever been witness to. As long as I'm destroying, ending the life of everything, _everything,_ in my path, he loses interest in driving me mad and pours his strength into me. Mark my words when my soul is returned, she will suffer a fate worse than the depths of whatever hell her black heart believes in!" His fist stopped a hair's breadth from Nina's hand covering the branch. Good thing she was here. He didn't need to get noticed. Deep breath. Exhale. Was he good? Another breath. Exhale. Yes. "So you know she held Ana hostage," he was still growling, he wasn't going to be able to control that for a bit, "You know I was falsely promised her safety. Do you understand why I could not utter that name for so long?"

Nina took her hand from the bark when his fist retreated. "I forgive you," she said softly. Her soul magnified the honesty of it to him.

The growling stopped. His eyes again locked with hers. He didn't understand the feelings the look she was giving him evoked.

"Oi, Shyloh! Shyloh, I gotta talk ta ya! Please stop!"

"Caleb if you don't get away from me this minute-!"

Nina and Ryu peered down into the village to see Gray in a loose fitting robe running after his animal pelt covered, green haired friend. Kittah, Wolfie, some guards and a few villagers followed a cautious distance behind them. Gray didn't seem to care he had an audience. "I thought ya was pushin' up daisies not an' hour ago, Shy! I jus' wanna talk! Gimmie that much, please!"

Shyloh whirled around. "If you're well enough to chase after me, you're well enough to get out of my village!" she cried pointing to the exit, face bright red. "You're not allowed here, remember?'!"

"I ain't tryin' ta ruin ya marriage agin', Shy, I ain't carin' 'bout nothin' but seein' ya breathin' 'aight? Tell Ishal he ain't gotta worry!"

Tears and metal sparkled in the moonlight, "Caleb, _Get. Out!_"

"Wait, wait, Wats goin' on?'! Caleb was gone befo' ya got hitched! It ain't like 'im ta come all tha way back here ta... R-right Caleb?" Kittah cried, looking between her friend and her brother who looked to the ground, "_Really _Caleb?'!"

Shyloh turned her perfect blue jeweled nose into the air. "I'm sorry Kittah, you as well. Neither one of you are welcome here any longer."

"B-but, Shyloh!"

"Guards! Gather their belongings. They along with their odd little human girl are to be out of here within the hour!" she barked, pushing past Gray. He started after her, two not so scrawny guards grabbed both of his arms. "In fact, Kittah and the human have an hour, Caleb's time is up now."

"Shyloh what is this? What tha hell's wrong witcha?'!" Gray roared, "Afta everythin' we been through!" The shaman disappeared into a tree house, Gray landed on his rump outside the city gates. He got up, the two large guards made a wall.

"'Odd little human girl'", Nina sighed, "See, I told you it was weird."

Ryu was looking at Gray getting knocked to the ground for the fifth time. "Go get him. We need to leave."

"On it," she nodded and dropped swiftly from the branches.

* * *

"I don't envy ya, Von Buren. I talked to Zeth on the way here. Couldn't get me no where near a suicide mission like that I tell ya." Deep set chocolate eyes on a latte background dotted with flecks of cinnamon took in Ethan in the heavily cloaked garb he used to wear back in his Shyde days.

"It can't be helped," He said. Nina was his. No one else had the right to kill her.

Cherry blossom colored eyebrows arched. Shapely, yet muscular brown legs crossed, "Didn't ya almost get turned inta a peg leg by just the thing she has yappin' at her heels? How ya going to handle them both? Zeth said there was no way he coulda fathomed it, even with Lyut an' that's sayin' a lot, ya know?"

Sharp hunter eyes studied her severe features, made even more angular by the tight ponytail her pinkish locks were pulled back into. "I'm paying you too much to be bombarding me with annoying questions, Phoebe. Let me know if this poses a problem for you, because I'll gladly give Lesley the zenny."

In the bed beside them, Isabella slept oblivious. "Look I don't care about watchin' the kid I'm just sayin' ya don't have the luxury of three strikes like Zeth! " Phoebe hissed.

"And I ask again, do you _swear_ you don't have any other contracts floating around that might contradict this arrangement? Because if you do," He placed both hands on his swords, "We can settle any questions you may have."

"Godsdamnit Von Buren get a hold of yourself, I ain't got a hit on no kid and I'm insulted you would mention the very notion of one!"

"Good," Ethan said to Phoebe's frown, "I trust we have nothing more to discuss?" When the Shydian didn't answer, he pulled the hood of his cloak over his head.

"Be careful, alright?" Phoebe said to his back when he turned, "I still remember that bright eyed, eager little boy waltzin' into Jaxx's office like he owned the place and takin' Ironsides' seat right in front of him. Life lessons were learned that day. I got a soft spot for that idiot kid, even though I'm pretty sure he grew up to be an asshole."

Ethan stood in the doorway, unmoved by her nostalgia. "Stay on your toes. She's a very wanted target."

Phoebe clasped her hands against her bosom and lowered her head. Smokey apparitions of her likeness appeared on either side of Isabella's bed kneeling with their hands resting upon various weapons clinging to their belts. "I read the news."

"There's a particularly nasty group, weapons of choice are usually meat hooks or sickles. It must be a gang or something; I've fought quite a lot of them.

"Got it."

"And a Wyndian that insists on using gravity magic from afar to strangle her. He's a _ver_y evasive flyer; one of the best I've seen. I wounded him pretty bad our last encounter, but I suspect he's ballsy enough to try again."

"Mm-hmm."

"Check her food. Nitpick every little thing even if it seems redundant to do so."

"Are you leaving or not?"

"I found a handful of needles in cupcakes from her 'fans' one time-"

"Von Buren, I got it."

"Call me if the slightest-"

"I'm serious, Von Buren get the hell out of here before I knock ya block-"

The tip of one of his swords rested against her nose. She glared at him. "I too am serious, Phoebe." Shadows from the torches lining the walls blanketed half of his face in flickering shadows. Flames glinted in his narrowed eyes. "and I will not tolerate failure. It would do you well to remember that."

The Shydian leaned back and spat on his sword. "Hmph, asshole indeed," she sneered.

* * *

Ethan took to the air outside. Elanaar's winter moon shimmered over Wyndia's flower fields beneath him.

It started when he joined the AG. At first there were always the small fry to play with: a thief here, a bandit there, maybe if they were good a thug or two busted for turning a few pub brawls brutal, and it was all a tie them up, deliver them to the authorities' doorstep type thing. He was good at that game, especially at catching the runners. Wings of lightning. Sword arms like a tornado. That's what Jaxx said. Then it came time to take it a step further. Guardians took lives, and so he would have to learn. He was barely sixteen.

His first had been messy, so much the cleanup crew complained. He couldn't help it; he had missed a lethal first hit and was forced to drag his sword through his victim's chest until they bled out. Red sprayed everywhere, a warm, rhythmic tick, tock spurting out of the cold, begging, crying, shivering body he had scrunched into the last dark alley it would ever see. Ivory helped him forget that night, opened up a gate between murder and pleasure his psyche never grew tired of exploring.

Zeth was the catalyst. Just as Ethan took out the last of his family, Lyut's soul was injected into the dead eyed little bastard. He had to give the boy some credit, he was able to control those two souls almost flawlessly right off. It wasn't long before three swords, a dagger and a spiked club taught Ethan the adrenaline fueled ecstasy he would learn to crave from near death experiences.

The dragon scratched this itch on his own for sure, but the thought of facing Nina...

Zeth described her dragon-like form in full detail, from her fangs to her bone tail lashing wickedly, down to the absence of onyx scales in every place but modestly necessary. Even Zeth said it looked good on her. Of course Ethan already found his former princess attractive, as he had ever since he was young. Even during his early AG years when it was common to find him in a Shydian brothel after the sun was set, more often than not, he found his mind wandering to her. How when he returned to Wyndia he knew he'd be able enter her room at any time and find her more than willing to please him with those pretty pink lips and her perfect clean slate ready to have his name scribbled all over it. When he did come back it took everything he had to refrain from making it into a reality. Especially when she asked him to run away with her. He couldn't. Not to her. He _respected_ her, their past friendship, and his vow to her family. She didn't understand his torment, how everything childish and naive she said he wanted to twist and pervert until she was gasping and grasping at him with sweat slick limbs...

But now the inexperienced girl he once craved had fallen from grace. There was no mercy in those demonic eyes Zeth said with his voice actually shaking. Nothing there but a predator_._ Now Ethan found himself yearning for that murder tainted soul, anticipating the blackened claws digging into him while his blades bit into her supple flesh, dreaming of those fangs drinking from his blood as his steel gorged itself on hers...

Field after field of glittering emeralds whizzed by him as he caught a strong westbound wind with a powerful beat of his wings.

Love sure was complicated.

* * *

"Ya really ran in an' ruined 'er weddin'?'!"

"'Course I did, ya think I wanted that guy's hands on 'er? She ain't his woman, she be _mine._" Gray huffed, rubbing his hands together over the campfire. "Ya, I got banned. I ain't nevah seen 'er so angry neitha. Ishal gave me this scar too," he said, lifting his hair and pointing at a dent in his left temple. "'Bout knocked me brain clear out me ears!" Nina listened with her chin resting on her knees. Ryu sat near her, rummaging through a bag for mint leaves to rub on his teeth. Gray shook his head. "Eh, whateva, at least she's alive, ya kno'. I ain't got no problem headin' fo'ward now."

"Who _were _those guys, Ryu?" Kittah asked, nervously stroking Wolfie, "How come they only took out a lil' bit of Shy's village?"

Ryu looked to Nina. She nodded. Ryu relayed what happened, how the dark dragons were merely curious about the one who would be their "future goddess". "I hate to say this, but I wouldn't be surprised if they destroyed your village out of boredom and sensed us partway through their assault on your friend's home. Did she mention them disappearing in the middle of battle like they did to us?" Kittah nodded.

"Sorry about Yuistel," Nina said with a long face, "I can't help thinking this is all my fault."

"Ain't nothin' 'bout it."

Nina looked to Kittah, she shrugged like her brother. "Yuistel didn't like us much. Can't say I feel sorry theys gone. Theys treated our Ma and us like trash. Really, it don't matta ta us. Sounds like ya got mo' ta worry 'bout anyways. Some woman tryin' ta take ova ya body? An' how're ya both gonna deal wit' those glowin' bros? I ain't even notice tha guy that broke me leg!"

"I didn't either," Ryu said darkly, jumping and grabbing onto a branch. Using his legs he swung himself up into a crouching position in the tree.

Nina settled into her sleeping bag against the bottom of his perch. Gray and Kittah went to the other side of the campfire, one chewing on food and the other dreamroot to get their sleep schedule back on track. "If'n we git any rain we's gonna have ta deal with a lot of ice," Gray said, wincing. His teeth would be sore for awhile. "Kittah, me, an tha pup got clawed feet so we be 'aight, but ya guys, ah," he smiled at Nina lifting up a scale covered foot. "I see ya found ya got some traction. 'Aight then, g'nite."

"G'nite."

"Sleep tight you both."

Nina leaned back and stared at the sky, listening to the sounds of everyone settling in, disappointed at the clouds covering the stars. No breaks whatsoever, nothing but thick gray masses blocking everywhere she looked. She should've asked for some root, there was no way her nerves were going to calm down on their own after a day like this. She curled her toes in the bottom of her sleeping bag, stretched her legs anxiously. The red one's face was in hers. Ryu-like eyes, darker and steelier than her dragon friend's ever had been staring straight through into the deepest wells of her soul...

She blinked quickly. Her eyes caught Ryu's shadowy form leaning against the branch above her, watching, waiting.

Not a month ago, she wouldn't have batted an eye if he threw himself blindly at those dragons and got himself killed. All that mattered then was to be free of him, to vanquish the reason for the world to be salivating for her head on a platter. Her stomach churned, remembering the flicker of vulnerability he let slip under his defenses earlier. It disgusted her now, everything she used to think about him. He couldn't help who he was, he had no part in being attached to her, it was all that woman's fault! Her fists clenched. Curse her for no reason with a man who hates her kind only to ultimately claim her existence for her own? What did she do to deserve be a slave no matter where she turned? What did Ryu do to deserve anything that had ever happened to him, Godsdamnit?'!

_He won't approve of that, _his soul felt the need to speak up during her next thoughts.

It didn't matter what he approved of, she wasn't about to let him die for no reason, or for _her _to get away with bestowing this horseshit. She was going to continue to be Ryu's other half until that horrid woman got what she deserved. Maybe he would let her have a hit or two, it would only be fair.

_I'm telling you he won't allow it._

He will, she thought darkly, lost in a fantasy of her flattening Nyna the second's brittle skull against a wall with a scale covered fist, He just doesn't know it yet.

* * *

Nina's dreams didn't know where to turn that night. First they had her running from a Vahn with his ribcage burst open, tripping over his pants around his ankles, then an actual red dragon, roaring with a mouth that could fit ten of her inside of it easily, scrabbling the ground into ruin with claws like buildings.

She awoke to Ryu sitting beside her. Not child Ryu, she realized after a moment. Real Ryu. "You called for me," he said, answering her questioning look.

She sat up slowly, placing a shaking hand on her pounding chest. "Bad dream. I'm sorry," she said meekly. How childish, calling for him in her sleep. He sat beside her with his arms draped over his knees saying nothing.

It was raining. The trees above their campsite still had enough leaves to catch some of it. She heard the _plinks _of little chunks of ice hitting the pot she made tea out of. The edges of the bottom of her sleeping bag were frozen to the ground, she moved her feet around to break the seal. Ryu still faced ahead, eyes hidden by his thick, frost covered hair. "You can go back to your post," she said, adding agitatedly with hot cheeks, "Ignore my dreams next time, it's embarrassing."

"It is not unknown for him to strike in the dream world."

The Kaiser. Right. She must've called for him pretty desperately. Even _more _embarrassing.

"Really, Ryu, I'm fine-"

Cautious footsteps in the snow a few hundred paces away alerted her senses. Ryu tensed. Nina put her arm out to stop him, shaking her head. One of the scents was familiar. Freezing rain had put out their campfire. Normal visioned people would have a harder time seeing them in the absence of the moon. Why was that girl out here anyway? Ryu followed her into the shadows.

"Ya short five hunnard zenny, prin'cis," a large man said through a heavy black scarf tied around his head. Gigantic gloved hands meticulously sorted through bills.

Shyloh was covered in the pelt of a white wolf-like animal. The head of it was pulled over hers, her beautiful face sat between it's gaping muzzle and puffy tail wrapped around her collarbone. "You'll get the rest when it's done," she said, "You're sure you're the best these bandits out here have to offer?"

He looked her over, the animal pelt was glowing, "Yea, hailin' from way out in Synesta originally. Say...it don't hurt do it? This 'fusin' stuff..."

Shyloh's piercings glittered. Her arms went up into the air slowly, as if rising in water. The air around her shuddered, her hair followed her arms, "No, it's quite safe- wh-aaah'!"

Furry striped arms wrapped around her fur covered waist. Gray's chin appeared on her shoulder. "Gotcha," he grinned to her large glowing eyes.

Ryu, Nina and mystery man watched in awe Shyloh's body dissolve into glittering smoke and wrap around Gray. The cat grit his teeth. His muscles tightened, he grew almost to the size of his beast form. His fur took on a greenish shimmer, the hair on his head grew long and shaggy. He guffawed. The rest of the smoke absorbed into his triumphant pose. "I gotcha for two hours Shy an' there ain't _nothin'_ ya can do 'bout it!" he trumpeted, crossing his arms and plopping down onto snow on folded legs. Mystery man looked at the money in his hand then to Gray. The woren laughed again. "Who this fool anyways? Ya said a bandit? Whatcha learn 'bout bandits as a kid, Shy? They ain't ta be trusted! Oh me? _I'm _not to be trusted? How 'bout ya learn ta concentrate ya fusins bettah? Ooo ya angry now, huh? Too bad!" He looked up at the bandit, "Ya ain't needed no mo'. Leava ya money wit 'er." Gray nodded behind him.

Mystery bandit man turned around to Nina standing with her hand out behind him. He didn't hear her approach. "Thanks!" she said sweetly, grinning at him when he placed the money in her hands. Teeth. Little sharp fangs. Fire deep within her eyes. Were they glowing? Magic unnerved him; he'd had enough of it for tonight! He hurried from the girl and the weird woren and didn't look back.

Nina and Ryu studied Gray's new body. "His fur's all glittery," Nina said, running her hand over his shoulder. Ryu nodded, looking perplexed. He chanced a poke.

Gray paid no mind. "How ya gonna go fusin' wit a guy like that anyway huh, ya don't kno' 'im! Whatcha jus' go fuse wit anyone nowadays? Huh? What? I can make it sound like whateva I want, Shyloh, I ain't banned from _talkin'._ Oh what, ya still angry I ruined ya big day? Ya didn't even want that day ta happen! What? I don't care theys right here I ain't censorin' myself 'round no one! Really? It's embarrassin'? It's embarrassin' I was in ya bed tha night befo'?'!"

Nina's face went bright red, she stopped playing with the tuft of flowing green hair on his flicking tail. "Ahh...R-Ryu maybe we should..."

"Do ya love Ishal? Was two years enuff time fo' ya ta fo'get 'bout ol' Caleb? I mean, he ain't worth nothin' noways, bein' a _woren_ an' all!" Gray was yelling. Ryu observed him closely. Studs lined both of his eyebrows and down the bridge of his nose. There was a bullring at the end of it. When he opened his mouth, the dragon caught a stud. "Oh you're cryin'? Good, ya need ta be! Ya need ta be tellin' me ya sorry-"

Gray's eye widened and he was quiet for a very long time.

Ryu sat in front of him, still entranced by his 'enhanced' look. Nina tugged on the dragon's arm.

"H-hey..." he finally spoke and even Ryu flinched when he did. "Shy...Shy I'm sorry. Shy I didn't kno' he was dead, 'aight, ya gotta believe me. I'm really, really sorry. Hey, I kno', I kno', I fought them bastids too. I thought theys killed you..." The big green cat looked like he was trying to give himself a hug then stopped. His brow furrowed, "Shy...stop, that's mean an' it ain't true, I ain't 'happy he died', 'aight?" More furrowing. "What? Oh so I ain't believable no mo'? I ain't nothin' but a punk huh? Ya I'm so much of a punk I almost died fightin' those bros thinkin' they did ta ya wat theys did ta Yuistel!" Great arms flung out, came inches from hitting his friends. "Huh? Ya Yuistel. Theys destroyed it. All o' it. Oh _now _I git some pity? Of all people ya should kno' wat I feel 'bout that."

Suddenly it was like it just dawned on him Ryu and Nina were still there. He blinked, decided to fulfill Shyloh's wishes for privacy after all. "Ah, I hate ta ask this but ah...can we's have a lil', ya kno'...?"

Ryu stood up, Nina nodded and nearly tripped when she did. "S-sure thing Gray, w-we'll just be over there if you need us okay?"

Gray closed his eyes, counted until he was confident they were (mostly) out of earshot. He felt Shyloh's presence within him as clearly as he felt himself. He felt her embarrassment, her anger, her sadness. Her love. It was small but still there. More embarrassment because she knew he could feel it. They had only fused together like this once before when she was first learning how. It wasn't nearly this emotionally intense. "Enuff 'bout Yuistel, Shy. Ya was fusin' wit' that bro ta go fight them glowin' bastids fo' wat theys did ta Ishal wasn't ya? I don't blame ya, but even fused wit me usin' tha beast, ya ain't standin' no chance. Ya musta not seen much o' them. Even Nina an' Ryu. Theys dragons too ya kno' an',...hey, h-hey Shy listen, _listen, _theys ain't tha bad ones! Theys want them bros dead too, an I ain't kiddin' when I says theys strong. Hell, ya could fuse wit Nina an' guarantee beat tha hell outta prob'ly anythin' ya see!"

Shyloh's thoughts flooded into him. One corner of his mouth lifted up.

"Is she 'really that tough'? Baby girl, ya ain't gonna find nothin'' tougha than tha Angel o' Death."


	25. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-four**

_I Want to Tell You a Story_**  
**

"Absolutely not."

"Not fo' that long, come on, give 'er a chance! It ain't gonna hurt 'er, I promise!"

Ryu crossed his arms and stared down the shaman princess sitting on the trunk of a snow covered fallen tree. Her gray eyes were windows to the turbulence inside. Yeah, he was a dragon. She'd get over it. "Nina will not fuse with you, _ever_."

"What's tha prob wit' Shy wantin' ta help out?"

"Wondering whether this trick of yours will invoke the Kaiser or not is one that comes to mind!" Ryu growled at Gray, "If you're not going to exercise common sense, I can deal fine traveling with Nina on my own!"

"Whoa, bro, I ain't lookin' ta fight!"

Nina came up behind the dragon, "Calm down, Ryu, they're only trying to help."

"The Kaiser _never _helps!"

"It was just a suggestion!"

Shyloh stood. Gray reached for her. "Wait! We still goin' afta them, ya can come wit!"

"Why is the entire world tagging along with us?" fumed Ryu to Nina in old Wyndian. "Gray's one thing, but these others? What if the dog starts barking at a bad time? What if the shaman rats us out the second we get to another town?" He was aware after he mentioned Gray's name that the big cat was eying him in between his begging for Shyloh not to return to her village.

Nina's gaze hovered over them. "Can we afford to have any of them leave now that they know what I am?"

Ryu scowled and turned to Shyloh with a snort. "You, shaman, you're coming with us." Yellow orbs darted from her to Kittah and back, "You too, Gray's sister."

The shaman met his glare defiantly with her head held high and her jaw squared. "Caleb, please let your friend know I take orders from no one."

"That's uh...well he..." Gray scratched his head, shifted his gaze. "I ain't...uh...really in no position ta tell this guy what ta do."

Shyloh's alarmed eyes darted around, "You people can't keep me hostage! My mother will be back in the village tomorrow and when she sees I'm gone she'll have an army riding your tails!"

"Wasn't ya gonna leave wit that bandit anyways witout tellin' no one? I said we's still goin' afta them bros! Ya ain't gonna find no one else mo' capable than this group ta do it! Why don't ya jus' come along?"

"I don't have to do anything I don't want to, and I sure as hell won't be ordered around by this _monster_—" Ryu appeared before her bone blades crossed in front of her throat. Gray and Kittah started.

"Bro! Whoa, whoa, hey, heyheyhey, stop, she's 'aight, she's _'aight_! "

"Ryu! Stop!"

Most of the blood drained from the shaman's already pale face when she looked up at him. He curled back his lips, made sure he showed as much of his teeth as he could. There went the rest of it. "I said you are coming with us."

Gray swallowed and yanked Ryu back by his shoulders, "'kay I ain't havin' none o' that-_ooof_!" Ryu retracted his blades the moment he was touched and an elbow went into Gray's gut. The gray cat staggered back, fighting to regain his breath.

"What part of 'Nina is the godsdamn Angel of Death' is hard for you to understand the importance of?'!" snarled the dragon at him, "I never said you could tell your little girlfriend!"

"Bro I-" Gray wheezed.

Nina stood between them. One of her hands rested on Ryu's chest. He was surprised at the resistance when he tried to step forward anyways. She shot him a disappointed glare, then looked at Shyloh who was trying her best not to show how frightened she was. Her face was firm, but she was a leaf in a storm. "He won't hurt you, Shyloh, I promise."

"Do not promise anything until you know how tight her lips are," Ryu spat darkly for only Nina to hear.

"We can't have you running free with knowledge of my my whereabouts. You have to understand..."

"She ain't gonna tell no one, right, Shy?" Shyloh hesitated. Gray pressed, "C'mon now Shy..."

"I wasn't kidding about my mother. Keep me and she'll come no matter what I wish," Shyloh said through chattering teeth, cutting her eyes at Ryu.

The dragon tossed his head, laughing sharply, "Better hope she doesn't."

"We are _not _killing the leader of the shamans!" hissed Nina at him in their language, "Prince Vahn was enough! We need to stay as inconspicuous as possible now!"

"Hard to do with this _circus_!" he retorted, "I'd be easier just to-"

"_No._"

"_Fine. _I'll spare her mother but the army gets no plea," Ryu said for everyone.

Nina quickly glanced at Shyloh's ghastly expression then growled back at Ryu, "That's not helping!"

"What do you propose, then?" was his gruff response.

His mouth dropped open when she pulled one of her earrings out.

The Black Wings burst through the back of Nina's shirt into the sky, casting their cursed shadows upon Shyloh's awestruck face. "What the hell are you doing?!" Ryu grabbed her hand with the jewelry and tried to force it up to her bleeding ear. He winced when she pinched the lobe between two fingers. "Put them up _right now, _did you forget how close we are to people?'!" She slapped her hand away from his infuriatingly easily. He reached again. This time a hand on his chest sent him back a few steps. Oh no, he wasn't having that.

Amber snapped to him before he could retort. "I've got this, Ryu. Trust me."

_I think you should_, whispered her soul, sprinkling that annoying magic of hers that made some of the things Nina said impossibly inarguable.

Biting back venom, he set his concentrations on the area around them. If anyone came near, he would know. "You've got five minutes." His voice was little more than a growl.

Nina plopped down in front of Shyloh on folded legs. Owlish orbs gray as the clouds above them took in the wings of the dreaded Raven Princess with tears brimming their outer corners. "I know. Their aura is much more eerie in daylight if you can believe it. It seeks to possess any and all light that comes near, like it can never get enough. Maybe that's where the prophecy comes from. I remember the first time I laid eyes on them, I looked just like you do right now." The grays came down and for the first time gave Nina the respect of a meet. "Shyloh, I want to tell you a story."

She told the shaman everything. From Ethan to her friendship with Chasta, to her arranged marriage to Vahn. She talked about her life before the wings, the terrible turns it took even before the black monstrosities behind her shattered it into sharp, vengeful pieces. She told of meeting Ryu, of Vahn's uncouth advances, her execution, the crystal dragon destroying part of Wyndia to save her. The Assassin's Guild. Ethan's betrayal. Ivory, her first intentional kill. The faeries, Chamba, Zeth, Vahn's plans to make her his pet, Chasta's maddened confessions... Told why she had no choice but to defend herself again by doing the unthinkable. Told of the Kaiser's thirst for chaos, of the little boy who'd saved her time and again with a few stolen glances at Ryu. She told of Drogen's salvation. Of the fate that accompanied her if she lost to the dark dragons.

"Gray's right. They are going to die by our hand. We don't have any other choice. If revenge is what you want, we're the ones you want to be with."

When she was done, Ryu realized five minutes had long since passed, but it was no longer of importance; he understood from the looks on Shyloh and Kittah's faces that she knew exactly what she was doing. Kittah had been sitting beside the Wyndian with her hand clasped in hers since the Vahn part. Wolfie's head rested on one of her knees. "Yes, Ryu and I have something terrible inside of us, but we harm only out of self defense. We're good people. Just some not so good things have a tendency to happen to us." Nina smiled wearily. "I didn't ask for these wings, like Ryu didn't ask to be born with the Kaiser. Please understand our plight. We just want to be ourselves again. No world destruction, no battle for all the world's light. I rather like the sun and I'd like to let everyone else continue to enjoy it as well."

* * *

"She be back. That I kno'," Gray said watching Shyloh disappear into the forest.

Kittah was still beside Nina. She watched the Wyndian fix her earrings and take the wings back into her body in wonder. "Guys like Vahn be dirt, Nina," the cat girl said softly when the whole thing was over. "Some 'friends' of me an' Caleb's...afta he left they...they _woulda_...had Wolfie not been 'round..., " Her big blues narrowed, "One o' tha reasons I don't care much Yuistel be in ruins."

"Kittah..."

"Ya'll ain't gotta worry none 'bout me. I ain't sayin' a thing."

Ryu paced around where Gray was sitting. "Hey bro...I uh... Sorry I told ya business... I ain't a blabbermouth like that, it's just...well ya kno' it's _Shyloh._" Gray said, then blinked and suddenly turned to his little sister. "Wait, what tha hell did I jus' hear ya say? Who? Who botha'd ya like that back in Yuistel?'!" he cried jumping up.

Ryu snorted. He needed to work off this anxiety. "I'm going into the forest. Contact me the moment you see the shaman again," he said to Nina.

"Caleb it don't mattah, it ain't a prob'lem no mo'!"

"It was that Shawni guy huh? I ain't neva liked none o' tha looks that creep gave ya! Was it 'im?'!"

"Want some company?" Nina asked the dragon, ducking out from between the quarreling two.

"Not yours," he answered firmly, falling into the shadows. He turned his back on her disheartened face and darted into the forest.

* * *

_Do you have to always be so obnoxious?  
_

Ryu didn't answer the voice, he scampered up a tree to a branch and kicked off of it. He landed on the tree beside it, kicked off again. Landed on the next, kicked off again. Land, kick off, land, kick off, he was a silent shadow flitting nimbly through frost bitten limbs.

He slid to a stop where he landed next. A scent other than ice and bark. Two bucks wandered around kicking open hard snow, attempting to graze on the grass underneath, oblivious to the terror poised above them. No, he didn't want to think about it. He didn't understand it, it _angered _him. He dropped down beside the startled pair and twisted up for one's throat.

He didn't think about women. Why? What use were they for him? Lovers were crutches. He would have nothing of it.

Fangs pierced flesh through short coarse fur. There it was, that warm delicious goodness.

So why did he feel that godsdammed way when she looked at him?

Blood splashed the back of his throat, he pulled the whining creature down to the ground, trying to immerse himself in the frantic heartbeat dancing onto his tongue. Its partner scrabbled away.

_I forgive you._

His fingers had twitched. He had had the urge to run them over her cheek, to push her hair back so he could see her better...

He snarled and snapped the animal's neck.

* * *

Ryu's wild face was covered in blood when he got back to the others, noticeably shaking up Shyloh who had made it back after all. Nina laughed nervously. "He just...well he...ahh he...just don't...pay attention to him right now..." she glared at the dragon. Why would he not clean himself up?'! He shrugged her off and sat down near Gray. "It's alright, Shyloh, please continue," she coaxed.

The shaman woman cleared her throat regally. Ryu picked up a canteen and splashed its contents on his chin. Red water stained the snow. "A-as I was saying, I contacted my mother and told her I was leaving for awhile. I told her about Yuistel and the attack on Lhan, and that I was accompanying Caleb for revenge for Ishal and I wasn't taking no for an answer."

Gray snorted, "Oh really? What'd she hafta say 'bout that?"

"She didn't like any of it, but even she admitted yours were the safest hands I could be in if I was going to be such a 'rash little tart'."

"Damn right!" he pumped a fist into the air.

Shyloh to Nina after sighing at him, "You should know she's sent some of our best men out looking for you. She herself is getting back from a meeting with the wolf clan leaders devising plans on how to flush you out. Soon she'll head out to consult the other leaders about the dragons. I didn't have any luck getting anything more specific out of her."

"Not a concern," said Ryu.

"You're mighty confident, dragon. Wolves are fast and my people are quite capable."

"Nina and I are faster and better."

"You don't _know _that!" Shyloh huffed.

Gray raised his paw half halfheartedly. "I uh...do." he winced at the daggers her eyes shot into him.

"I'm more worried about the Assassin's Guild than anything else," said Nina pacing. She was tired. The sun was almost up and they were going to have to start walking again. "Gray, you're the AG encyclopedia right? What should we anticipate?"

Gray cocked his head thoughtfully, tail gliding back and forth over a frozen puddle on the ground behind him pushing leaves this way and that. "Hmm there's Zeth o' course. Ya'll kno' 'bout Ivory... Jaxx Roman is theys leader, 'e prob won't come unless there's no otha choice. 'E's tha fastest draw in tha world. We got me Pa, an' I'll have that covahed when it happens, lemme see who else," He held his chin in his hand, made an 'Aha!' motion after a moments thought, "Pheobe Skylark. She be a tricky one, can make copies o' herself outta some kinda magikal smoke an' you cain't tell no diff'rence. She be a vet'ran memba of tha AG, like me Pa. I'd be wary o 'er." His brows furrowed. "Lucas Astaguard. Some'bitch can control tha damn weatha! Heard 'e makes weapons outta 'is magic too, I dunno what we gonna do against that bro." Ryu leaned in, smirking with interest. Nina found she was doing it as well. "Lesley Darkmeadows. Shaman name, though nobody 'members what 'e looks like or what 'e's done. 'e's been off tha radar fo' years. Ah..." he hit himself on the forehead, "Oh an those otha two...I can't 'memba theys names. I kno' one was a gal. Theys kno' how ta use all them fancy influential spells, make ya do whateva theys want! Theys prob be tha most dangerous, but I'm sorry I dunno much 'bout them like what they look like or anythin'. Peoples like them ain't make tha papas cuz theys good at keepin' themselves hidden. Theys a few like that."

Influential magic. _"I _really _wish your father would have told me you were this stubborn, I would have had those people enchant my entire castle,"_ she remembered Vahn saying on that roof. So AG members were responsible for his courtyard phenomenon. Okay, she'd felt their magic before, she'd recognize it again.

_Your nose will win against apparition woman and your elements will counter the weatherman. Anything else, I have your back. _

Nina nodded. She knew he did. "Thanks Gray, that helps a lot."

Ryu gathered up his things. "Sun soon. Time to move."

Gray, Kittah and Nina followed suit. Shyloh's gaze darted to each of them, "We're traveling? No one's had a good night's sleep!"

"We take advantage of the daytime. When the sun sleeps we sleep," said the dragon.

Shyloh hurriedly picked up what bags Gray didn't get for her and followed the crew, fur covered boots crunching over ice encrusted leaves.

* * *

They took a back road detour that didn't lead them by Yuistel and by the end of the night they were already almost to the edge of the forest because it ended up being a shortcut. Tomorrow they would venture into the desert. Ryu and Nina left to hunt for dinner after helping to set up camp in some trees. Kittah went for a walk with Wolfie. Shyloh and Gray stayed behind, tending to soup boiling in Nina's cooking pot.

Gray lifted his eye patch and rubbed the orange fur underneath. They had been sitting watching the brew bubble shrouded in an awkward silence for too long. "Listen, Shy, I'm sorry I butted inta ya life agin," he said, mismatched orbs immersed in the crackling flames below the pot. "I guess ya made an' impression on me, ya kno'?" he smiled and leaned back on his large paws. There were no stars this night. He sniffed the air. Snow was due at any moment. "I'll tell ya, theys be a _lot _o' girls in Chamba. Ain't a night go by one didn't ask me ta take my winnin's fo' tha night -I was rollin' in it in tha city by tha way, lemme tell ya I had a _system_- an' spend it on 'em an' they'd make sure I had a _really_ good time too." Shyloh's pale hands folded in her lap. "I ain't gonna lie. Sometimes if one had long hair and a lot o' piercins an' I'd have a lot ta drink, I'd accept. I had ta. Anythin' ta get ya outta me mind, but it ain't neva worked, only made it worse," he sat back up and scratched his head, couldn't look anywhere near her. "It's hard, Shy. I still love ya jus tha same. I kno' ya wasn't eva in love wit Ishal. He was ya friend, an' a good one too, but he was nevah ya husband."

"You're right, he was my very good friend," Shyloh said softly, slender fingers intertwining, "and in the years we were together, I may have grown to think a lot more of him than you would like to know. We were trying for a child."

Gray didn't flinch, instead uttered a short intake of breath that transformed into a nervous laugh. "Heh heh...I guess ya had ta, huh? Heirs n' all..."

"My clan is important to me, Caleb, you more than anyone knows that, but it wasn't _just _that." _  
_

"Sorry. I guess I'm jus' a fool."

Shyloh's features softened. "No Caleb...you just don't understand..."

He growled, "Ya damn right, I ain't undastandin'! _I _want to be the one lyin' in ya bed at night fightin' witcha on whetha we wanna try fo' a lil' one o' not!" He forced himself to look at her. Tears shined in the firelight on her porcelain face. He pressed regardless," I 'memba a time when ya didn't care 'bout nothin' but us. 'memba we used ta talk 'bout family too? I kno' we was kiddin' an' all but I was in yo' bed a whole lot-"

"Uh...yeah...ummmmmmm...Caleb...Shy?" the two looked back at Kittah looking uncomfortable cradling something in her arms. Wolfie circled the cat girl, whining. "I uh...hate ta intarrupt but Wolfie an' I kinda found this kid out in tha snow..."

* * *

Ryu was ignoring her. He was still calling her Nina when he had to talk to her, but for the most part, he was as emotionless as a real shadow bounding along beside her. She should've known this would happen. It was always one step forward, two steps back with him.

_Give him time. _

"There," she heard him whisper. She landed on a branch beside him. Chins brushed frosty bark. Below, a bear that hadn't yet made it back into its cave to hibernate for the winter stood tall on its hind legs and with a menacing growl fell back into their tree. They held on so the vibrations of the animal scratching his back against it didn't throw them off. He turned to her. "Throats yours today."

On a creature this large? She wiped her mouth against her forearm. "Are you sure?," she asked with a lip bite. Was she ready? It had been more than a week since he'd let her have a jugular and she completely agreed with his reason for keeping her from them. Last time, she blacked out soon after she tore flesh and woke up in Gray's arms staring at Merybel reattaching one of Ryu's forearms back to his elbow.

"Take it," he said, muscles noticeably tensing, "I want to see how well you handle it."

Alright, a training exercise. She'd do it. Anything to better herself before facing the brothers. She took a deep breath and dropped through the branches.

Anything to impress Ryu.

The bear barely finished a grunt of surprise before she landed on him, sliced both its incoming paws off with her blades and tore at its throat with her jaws. Moments after she felt the flesh rip she jumped out of the spray of blood. Nope, not yet, her heart, gods her heart was beating so _fast!_ She landed and licked the crimson dripping from her lips, used her forearms to get the blood off her face and neck and ran her tongue all the way up them. She lapped at it, couldn't stop! She needed more... Her eyes darted to the bear twitching in red snow. Pupils dilating, she slunk back towards it. Ryu was in front of her. "That's enough." His hand gripped her shoulder. "Come, you're a mess. Hey. _Nina_." he snapped his fingers. She blinked, looked up at him. It took her a second to register his concerned face. "Follow me."

They reached a frozen puddle and he kicked a scale covered foot through it. "Use this." When she pursed her lips at the muddy water he sighed, "I'm not allowing you to consume any more it off yourself and I'm not so sure I feel comfortable doing so for you, so I suggest you wash off here."

Nina choked on her own saliva. She couldn't stop her mind from conjuring embarrassing thoughts she knew his soul was horrifyingly witnessing.

"Hurry up, I don't like the way its making him stir." He was right. Despite her humiliation, the Kaiser's excitement threw a tremendous thirst into her throat with each breath she took of the crimson covering her. This was the strongest she'd felt him since that day...

She plunged her hands into the water and splashed the cold, dirt smelling liquid onto her face. Red swirled in the puddle. Ryu knelt down beside her, helped her remove her shirt. Thank goodness the blood that did manage to get on the tank she had on underneath was too little to hinder her. He wet his hands and ran them through the side of her hair where she had turned and taken the brunt of the spray. "I don't get it," she said, hoping talk would divert his attention from the goosebumps infecting her skin when his fingers would brush over the nape of her neck as he combed, "How did those dark dragons find us? What's going to stop them from simply warping in on us again whenever they feel like it?"

Ryu scrubbed her ear, tapped the earring on it as a 'hello' to Merybel probably. "They know where we are because she knows. I'm sure it's easy to track ones own curse." Nina wiped down her arms. Made sense. Ryu tilted her head. Calloused thumbs dragged across her jawbone. So many damn bumps... "There isn't anything we can do to stop them. They're going to come when they want to come."

"How are we supposed to make it to Drogen then? They aren't going to let us!"

He leaned in close, squinted at a stubborn spot on her throat. She swallowed. "They will if I convince them going to Drogen will make you stronger."

"What? How?"

Yellow eyes met hers, shifted quickly when they did. "The details aren't so clear at this moment."

She frowned. "That's...reassuring."

He shrugged and went back to the spot, getting close enough for her to feel his concentrated breaths. He stopped after a few scrubs. "Your hearts going crazy again, are you really that worried?"

Warmth flushed over her. "N-n-no! I mean, yes! I m-m-mean..." She grabbed his wrists, turned her head from him, "I...I got it...okay?" she said politely, yet firmly pushing him away.

He hesitated. Her heart did spins in her ribcage wondering why. Finally he stood. "I'll gather the bear and make sure I cauterize its wounds. You finish up, alright?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

His footsteps faded, she splashed more water to try and extinguish the fire burning her cheeks. Not again! When he called her by name for the first time she thought she would faint, and then his face when she told him she forgave him for waiting so long to acknowledge it...

No man had ever given her a look like that before, though she knew its kind well. It was one she had always wished would come from Ethan.

Water ran down the palms of her hands, trickled down her chin. It wasn't from Ethan, yet it hit her harder than any look her old companion could have ever given her.

She didn't know how to deal with that.

_Ever the romantic, huh?  
_

Gods, his _soul_! "Y-y-y-y-y-y-y-you don't understand at _all, _that's _not_ what I meant to think at _all _you gotta believe me!" She covered her mouth. Eyes wide as the moons behind the clouds above went to Ryu walking to her with the bear on his back and a brow full of questions.

Mercifully, he asked none on the way back to camp. He seemed to be having his own struggles.

"Oi, Nina! Ryu! Come 'ere!" Kittah called to them, waving her arms when they came in view of her. Ryu threw a frown Nina's way and she knew he didn't approve of the yelling. They hastened their pace. "I'm sorry I yelled, really," Kittah said to them both, guessing Ryu's annoyance, "but we sorta got an' emergency here!" She pointed to a blanketed bundle lying across Gray and Shyloh's laps.

Nina stepped forward and gasped. She fell to her knees before it. "I-Izzie!'?" No. It wasn't Isabella. The girl the blanket held had about the same color hair as her sister, but the eyes fluttering open were a bright sea green color. The girl dove at Nina and flung her arms around her. Wolfie circled them, growling. Kittah tried unsuccessfully to pull him back.

"Help me!" the girl cried, burying her head into Nina's neck. "Hide me from the bad men!"

"She keeps going on about these 'bad men'," said Shyloh, wrapping the blanket again around the child's trembling shoulders, "We haven't seen anyone around and we haven't been able to get anything else out of her. She starts to talk and it shakes her up so badly she faints."

Nina pulled herself from the girl's vice-like grip. "Calm down, alright?" Strange. Her heart _was_ calm. Why was it calm if she was just attacked? Wolfie whined. He was _really _nervous." Tell me what happened to you."

The child sniffed, wiped her eyes on the sleeve of a dress made from the colorful, mismatched patches of many others. "Bad men...killed Mama an' Papa... even one o' my b-b-big brothers an' he had a biiiiig axe!" she sobbed, "I bit one an' kicked one down there an' r-ran when I could!"

Kittah knelt down beside her. "How old are ya, hon? What's ya name?"

"Eight. Remy," said the little blonde with a trembling lip.

"Where are you from, Remy? What are you doing all the way out here in the forest?" Nina asked. This was ridiculous. Eight year olds couldn't be _this _good at acting...right?

"Oasis Springs," the girl mumbled, sniffling and looking up with big doe eyes like she was reading her mind.

"Tha oasis in tha middle o' Shyde? Ya serious lil' gal? How tha hell'd ya git ova here?" Gray cried.

The girl looked up at Nina. Button nose, just like Isabella. "I w-w-was staying in Synesta with Mama, Papa, Tandle an' Dex." Tears filled her eyes again. "I woke up and M-m-m-mama was on the floor beside me... I shook her so much but she didn't wake up... I-I screamed an' I saw the men. Five of them, all wearing black scarfs around their heads! Th-They stabbed papa an' Tandle! Dex told me to run...so I did!"

Gray's eye widened. "_Straight _from Synesta? Like ya ran all tha way thru tha Frostlands?'!"

"Frostlands?" asked Nina. She remembered learning _something _about it...

"Tha pola' desert I was talkin' 'bout!"

"When the gods were warring long ago, your Goddess cast a mighty blizzard on a large chunk of land between my people and Shyde as a display of her power. To this day it hasn't stopped snowing over that icy wasteland," said Shyloh, gently patting the girl's head. She tucked a loose strand of her long hair behind her little ear. "How did you manage to get through all of that unscathed, little one?"

"I took the bad men's sandcruiser. I-I made it all the way here but I...crashed..." Remy swayed and fell onto Nina. Wolfie grabbed onto one of the girl's long sleeves and pulled so hard he ripped it.

"Wolfie! Stop!" Kittah cried, gathering him up.

Nina stood with the girl dangling in her arms. Something felt off, but she couldn't ignore the sandcruiser, what a find! "She can sleep in my bag-"

"We don't need any kids, Nina," said Ryu in Wyndian from behind her, staking sticks with large chunks of bear meat over the campfire. He took a spare stick and stirred the pot in the middle. Firelight illuminated his glower.

"But we _do_ need a sandcruiser. If we can find it and it's not too damaged we can shave days off our journey. Besides, maybe someone in Synesta knows her and we can leave her there." His jaw hardened. She turned to the others. "Do any of you happen to know anything about machines?"

Gray raised his hand. "I do sorta...but I ain't neva messed wit no sandcruisa if that's what ya's gonna ask. But hey don't look like that, I'll try, ok? I ain't gonna pass up a good oppertunity like this!"

While Nina tucked in Remy, Kittah joined her in the tree where her sleeping bag was too. "Hey uh, thanks fer decidin' ta help 'er. She was so buried in tha snow when I found 'er I almost tripped ova 'er!"

"She reminds me scarily of my sister," said Nina, holding the girl close and getting in the bag. Her dragon skin would keep her warm. "'Lil bugger looks almost identical to her. I don't think I could've refused if I tried."

Kittah smiled. "Ya really ain't bad, is ya?"

"I agree. You _are_ mighty benevolent," said the head of Shyloh's animal pelt, bringing over their share of the meat and soup. Their branches were low enough the shaman could reach up to them. When Nina tore into her meat, she noticed Shyloh look away. "for such a monster."

"Oi dun call 'er that, she can't help it," said Kittah, making a face and stirring her soup, "I imagine it be like not bein' able ta turn off Beast Tiga. Like all tha time ya's got that fightin' energy in ya, but ya ain't got no 'propriate way ta vent it. Ryu be tha same way."

Nina swallowed and blinked at her. "Kittah, that's exactly how it is."

Shyloh sighed, "Well the Angel of-"

"_Shh_!" Nina hissed glancing warily at Ryu chomping down on his food with Gray. Hopefully Gray's robust laughter would cover anything up. "Please don't say anything like that in front of Remy. I don't want to have to fight with Ryu over whether it would be better to 'take care of' her or not."

Kittah spit out her soup. "He would...to an innocent child?'!" Shyloh whispered excitedly back.

Nina knew he'd relent in the end, but butting heads with him was always exhausting. He did _not _like to be told what to do. "It's complicated," she said honestly. Suddenly Wolfie's head popped up from inside of her sleeping bag. "Wh-what the?'!" she cried, almost knocking her head back on the tree's trunk.

"I dunno what's gotten inta 'im? E's been actin' crazy ever since we's found Remy." The dog whined and wriggled between Nina and the little girl. "Mebbe...'e's jealous?" Kittah laughed. "Guess e's taken a shine ta ya, huh Nina?"

Nina listened to the dog's almost painful sounding heartbeat with mixed feelings.

"Yeah. Maybe."

* * *

**A/N:** Yay thanks to everyone still reading and checking out my artwork! I swear I'll get to coloring this story's cover sometime...


	26. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-five**

_But You Think it's Stupid, This Thing Called a Conscience._

Air thick with salt.

Sun beating down on back, shoulders.

Water sliding over fingers.

Water drawing back, fingers sinking into velvet sand.

Fingers brushing against hard bits, both sharp and smooth.

Cheek against warm, flat rock.

Where? Why? That noise...

**Because _I _will it.**

Strong fingers gathered full of Nina's crown and yanked her up. Her eyes flashed open to white sand and blue, blue sky. Waves. That's what was crashing.

Amber swiveled, filled with the Kaiser.

**You think you're so _clever_ do you, Keeper? **He sneered into her face. Salty winds blew long white hair against her bare shoulders. **You honestly believe there is such nonsense as 'getting used to' me? **Granite dragged through her ear canals, suddenly threw itself against the drums. **DO NOT PATRONIZE ME! **The fury of his aura crushed into her from all sides as spittle flecked her cheek, shaking his jittery grip of rage. **I AM NOT SOME COMMON ANNOYANCE, I AM THE DESTROYER OF WORLDS, THE HAND OF DEATH, THE VERY PERSONIFICATION OF _FEAR!_ YOU CANNOT IGNORE ME, YOU CANNOT DENY ME, YOU CAN. NOT. DEFY. ME!**

A bandaged hand clutched the Kaiser's wrist and twisted. Nina fell back into the crook of an arm. Stunned she took in what she knew was, but couldn't possibly be Ryu's soul setting her gently down and facing the Kaiser with a body too old, a drive much too strong.

"Don't t-touch her," he growled, jaw wavering.

Embers becoming slits, the Kaiser snaked in close to Ryu's trembling, yet firm legged form with his lips curled back into a nasty sneer. _**You **_**protect **_**anything**_**? Do not make me remind you of what happened to your sibling right in front of y-**

With an equally foul expression, Ryu engulfed the Kaiser's face in his hand and squeezed until his head _popped _into a puff of black smoke.

He turned Nina. Behind him, the puffs dispersed into a cracking sky. A tremendous roar tore through the air. "He'll be back. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to wake you up now."

"Wait!" she cried, voice finally finding her lips, "W-why do you look...what's the reason for...y-you're not...?" She blinked at him.

He pushed wild navy locks from a smile so warm it made her weak. "I guess someone helped me find some courage, eh?" he said, breaking away with the world.

* * *

In the morning, they found the sandcruiser.

"Ain't this our lucky day? I be damned if it don't even look broken neitha! Jus' a lil' busted up an' it ain't no sin ta be ugly ya kno' so we ain't gonna hold it against 'im!" crowed Gray, brushing the last bit of snow and debris from Remy's dented wreckage. He turned the key in the ignition and after a few sputters, the machine purred to life.

"Are we so lucky you know how to operate it too?" asked Nina, taking a seat near the back. It was a little too small to accompany everyone. Remy climbed into her lap, Wolfie curled around her feet.

The big cat scratched his head. "Now _that _I ain't so sure 'bout but it cain't be too hard I mean there jus' be a stop an' a go an'—w-whoa-!" He gunned the engine and they would have shot forward had Ryu not grabbed onto the back of it. The cruiser jerked in his grip. "Hahahahaha nice save bro!" Gray laughed nervously. Ryu threw in the rest of their luggage and hopped on top of it. Gray slowly, carefully, put his foot back on the gas and managed to ease the cruiser out of the brush into a smooth momentum. Once he got the hang of it, there were only a few minutes of trees whizzing by until they hit the desert.

They might as well have entered another world, thought Nina as sun, clear sky and scorching temperatures hit them all at once. Gray warned them of this drastic change, ( "Y'all kno' our world be crazy when it comes ta weatha in places. Like how it don't never snow in Wyndia an' theys only got a week outta tha year n' tha Sima Fort area where it ain't rainin'.") but it had done it no justice. Nina leaned into the wind, already sweating profusely. For miles every which way, she could see nothing but barren white sand dunes, some seemingly as high as mountains. No vegetation, no shade...

_No cover._

She couldn't help feeling incredibly naked out there in the open. Now she understood Ryu's apprehension back in the grasslands. She shook her head at memories of her foolish behavior.

Sunlight glittered off the sands in the horizon, she squinted her eyes. "Be careful lookin' out there!" Gray called over the cruiser's mechanical rumble, "'that metallic sand'll burn a hole in ya ret'nas befo' ya kno' it!" Nina quickly looked to Wolfie at her feet. He was staring up at Remy bobbing and humming in her lap. "In Synesta we's gonna hafta buy some tinted goggles fo' ev'ry one! Cain't be without 'em inna sandstorm!" Shyloh started to take off her pelt, Gray stopped her. "Dun bother, tha Frostlands be jus' up ahead!"

Nina's eyes migrated to Ryu's boots, her mind to his soul.

No.

She forced herself to focus on the present, and to get over her new fear of looking him in the eye, went to do it regardless when she noticed him distracted by the sky. "What's wrong?" she asked in Wyndian.

He lowered his gaze and stared ahead, saying nothing.

She glared at him. "If it's something important, I need to know!"

"What language is that?" Remy asked Nina, tugging on the blanket they both had wrapped around them. Their eyes met. Why did hers seem darker?

"A-ah..." Nina fumbled. She couldn't tell her Wyndian and she couldn't very well say something as obscure as Draconian without follow up questions she _really _didn't know how to answer. "W-woren," she finally decided with a guilty glance at Kittah.

"Ak'tar? To'burn skoltir, mada nomko?" asked the little girl sweetly. Nina blinked.

Kittah laughed nervously. Gray's head whipped back in surprise. "She said, ah...'Seriously? Then why didn't ya talk like this?'" the cat girl said with an awkward glance at her brother. Ryu was no longer preoccupied.

"W-well see w-we...w-well..." Nina bit her lip, then remembered not to, as her canines weren't so small anymore. She sighed. "It's ancient Wyndian, the language of magic. W-we're both h-humans with the gift...a-and a love for knowledge. Many ancient texts are written in it, you know." It sounded good, right?

The little girl's cute Isabella nose scrunched at Ryu. "But he sounds funny an' his eyes are weird an' his ears is even a lil' pointy."

"He's ahh...his body wasn't strong enough to hold all the m-magic he was born with s-see so it mutated him...kinda like how the creatures inside Wyndian forests are... So he's a little different than you but it's alright, he's a friend." Oh gods he was giving her the death look. Stop! She didn't want to call him a monster but the way he was looking wasn't going to sway the little girl's mind away from it! "L-listen I'm sorry I lied but, h-how in the world do you know woren language?"

Remy smiled, showing all of her teeth. "I'm smart. I know a~lot of things."

Nina's brow furrowed. Why didn't she care more about these "things"? "I see..." she turned towards Gray and the scenery before him answered the question forming in her mind. Black clouds that weren't there a minute ago tumbled ahead, filling both sky and ground with their tremendous icy bounties. Nina swallowed, could see the winds whipping snow off the tops of dunes and slamming it into others. Occasionally a flurry of ice chunks would catch a ride.

"Bundle up!" the big cat cried, and before they really had a chance to make sure everything was secure, burst into the Frostlands.

Nina got down to help Ryu hold all the excess luggage in place while shielding Remy, Kittah, and Wolfie with her blanket as bits of ice pelted them. Shyloh stood and lifted glowing hands into the air. A thin transparent shield bubbled around them; the ice bounced away. Nina pulled back her blanket. "How long can you hold it?"

"I'll be fine as long as Caleb hurries," said Shyloh, bringing glowing eyes to him.

"Aye, aye m'am! It ain't that big o' a place when ya gots a cruisa!"

Snow poured over the shield. Winds rocked them almost sideways. Remy's tiny hands reached for a broken metal rod on the ground beside them and she stood, facing Nina. "We better watch out, some of them ice chunks broke off a piece o' tha cruiser!" The jagged end lazily pointed in the Wyndian's direction. Wolfie dove forward, snapping at the little girl's legs. Remy yelped and kicked. "Make the mean doggie _stop_!" She squealed, swiping the rod at him, tears streaming down her face. "I don't like him, he's _scary!_"

Calm heart. Again.

The cruiser hit a slab of ice jutting out of the ground hidden in snow. Remy toppled over Wolfie onto Nina, or would have if Ryu hadn't have snatched the back of her dress at the last moment. The metal in her hands hovered dangerously close to Nina's abdomen. Ryu disarmed the girl and tossed it through the shield out into the blizzard. "For the rest of the trip, you're with me," he growled, taking hold of her around the waist and sitting back down on the luggage.

"But I wanna be with Nina!" she screeched, balling her fists and hitting him, "You can't tell me what to do!"

"Looks to me like I am."

Shyloh staggered. A chunk of ice pierced through the shield and nicked Gray's shoulder. Nina clasped her hands together and hurriedly whispered for her sprites. The ice one appeared in front of her, and one she didn't see often, the green, flowing feathered harpy-like spirit of wind took in its surroundings with wide set, darting eyes. _Please help my friend shield us from harm, _she thought and immediately they both flew to Shyloh.

The shaman's weary, fading eyes widened as two tiny shining hands and a pair of glowing talons touched her arms. There was a _wub _noise, and the shield pulsed with regained strength. "Sprites heed _your _command?!" Shyloh asked Nina incredulously. "They barely acknowledge my mother, the leader of the shamans, yet they are at the beck and call of the Raven Prin-" Her eyes flickered from Nina to Ryu to Remy. She swallowed. "Tell me, I must know how are you able to control them."

Kittah was studying the ice sprite's paper thin, glittering wings. Nina shrugged. "Control isn't the word. They're more like...friends?"

She was thirteen when the light sprite first appeared to her. It was startling because, surely her summons wouldn't work on the first try, but lo and behold...

Over the next few months, other sprites showed. The ice fairy, the wind harpy, the earth dryad, the fire kitten, the shadow of the dark, all making themselves very known. Most were happy to see her, though some were shy in her presence, the dryad in particular. Harpy was flighty; everything was up in the air according to her. Fire kitten was elusive, she had only seen him once, as well as the shadow, who made sure at their one meeting she knew _that _was going to be the only time she ever laid eyes on it.

Shyloh was making a strange face. "'Friends?'"

Winds howled by. Gray whipped the cruiser through a forest of ice spikes protruding out of the ground. "Yes, I've always considered them as such."

She felt a subtle rumble beneath her feet.

_Below us, up ahead! Something big!  
_

Nina's alarmed eyes met Ryu's and they both dove for Gray at the same time. "BRAKE! STOP! BRAKE NOW!" they screamed in unison. Gray was too confused to react. Nina slammed her foot down on the pedal. The cruiser screeched and fishtailed on the ice.

"What tha hell ya both doin'?!" Gray screamed, letting go of the spinning steering wheel. He grabbed it after a few seconds and held tight. They slid sideways and clipped a spike. He held the wheel again, body squishing Nina against Ryu. His foot joined Nina's and they skidded to a stop. Veins scattered over his forehead. "Ya'll tryin' ta kill us?!"

Suddenly, a sandworm a good twenty or so of their cruiser length in width broke through the ground in front of them and shot into the air. All eyes followed its midnight blue leathery body arching over them wide with shock as its shadow engulfed them. Even Remy lost interest in fighting Ryu to gape at its majesty. The head broke through spikes and plunged into thick ice, snow and sand behind them, causing waves and another jolting earthquake.

Gray gunned it and maneuvered them around the worm's tail end still emerging from the ground, bouncing on waves of ground. "What tha hell was _that_?!" he cried as it fell behind. "I ain't thought there'd be no monsta's out here! How can it live in this wasteland, huh?! How tha _hell _didya git thru this, Remy?!"

"She's fainted," Ryu said, wrapping the blanket Nina handed him around her.

"Well she betta ansa when she wakes up, I ain't believin' she did any o' this by herself no ways! Didya check in tha cruisa storage bay real good? Maybe one of thems 'bad men' came wit."

Ryu shook his head. "No one. Nothing would escape my nose." He looked down at the girl.

"It be weird as a two tailed woren, I tell ya, an' I kno' it be a lot weirda than I be thinkin' but I cain't figgur out why I ain't thinkin' that way, ya kno'? Gods_damnit _I sound daft!"

"Shyloh, are you alright?" Nina asked.

The shaman nodded. Her pelt floated around her in an invisible magical force. "Thanks to your 'friends'." The wind harpy squawked, '_too easy!' _translated Nina's mind.

"We gotta git outta here befo' that big ol' bro decides he wants ta do mo' than jus warn us!" Gray cried, laying his foot on the gas again. The cruiser jerked forward, Nina and Kittah fell back into Ryu. Shyloh struggled to stand her ground with the sprites' help.

"Almost! We cain't be too far, jus' hold on a lil' longa, baby girl!" Gray drifted them through another group of ice spikes.

The blizzard was growing stronger. Nina could barely see a thing outside of the shield. She wondered if Gray could at all. She guessed not when he barely cleared a slide through two close together spikes and clipped the edge of another one. They spun, the wheel burned his paws when he grabbed it. Saucer eyes darted up at a spike materializing out of the clouds of white directly in front of them. Oh gods they were going to crash!

He spun the wheel the other way, the clip to the back that resulted straightened them out and the nervous lead foot flooring the gas sent them flying off a natural sand ramp behind it. Nina and Kittah clung to Ryu. Shyloh grabbed onto the back of Gray's chair. The shield dispersed.

Nina, expecting to be impaled by shards of ice and asphyxiated by snow, was suddenly very surprised to feel hot, dry air against her scrunched face. She opened her eyes to see the cruiser not under her, and herself, Ryu and Kittah all plummeting headfirst towards a dune.

What a time not be able to use her wings.

* * *

"Not...a problem. I got it, alright? You don't have...to thank me."

Pain shot down Nina's body in waves. Swollen eyelids opened to Ryu's sweat drenched shirt clinging to his back.

"I ain't...so good at drivin' in ice I reckon..."

She was laying on the deck of the cruiser and it was moving. Strange, she didn't hear the engine. Was Ryu _pulling _it?

"I see buildings," wheezed the dragon.

Nina managed to turn her head; it was all she could do. Everyone was laid out unconscious except Gray (and was that Wolfie?) though both looked too battered to move much either. Damn that flaky harpy. Probably didn't realize what was happening fast enough to do anything about it, _i__f _she cared that was. The cat nodded his head at her with a big smile. "Ya's damn tough, ya kno' that, Nina?"

She groaned in response. "Are we really alive?"

Ryu chuckled. His right arm hung lame at his side. "How much money do we have left?" he croaked, sounding a thousand times more parched than she felt. Winds whipped at his dust covered mop and the rags he was dressed in. Sweat poured in streams down his dirty, reddening arms. If even he was getting burned, Nina hated to think what was happening to her delicate skin. Gods it was so _hot._

"Enuff ta party hard fo' awhile, bro, an' even git anotha cruisa lata!"

"I want...the nicest inn in the city. With a soft bed all to myself...and a...huge bathtub...I can fill with ice..."

Gray laughed, or rather sputtered pitifully. "'Aight, 'aight, I dig it...we git somnthin' fancy! Cain't... help ya wit tha ice tho, ya gotta kno'...we's ain't near...tha oasis an' we's ain't nowhere near tha sea neither. Water an' ice be hard ta find 'round here...even fo' tha rich! I mean we can get some but it ain't gonna be a lot...that's fo' sho'."

Nina could almost feel the disappointment radiating from the dragon. "Maybe," She strained through a sandpaper throat, "I can ask the ice sprite to be nice...and conjure you up some... How about that, Ryu?"

He strode forward, dragging the cruiser along behind him up a steep dune with powerful, sand caked legs. "Infirmary...first," he huffed, cresting it.

Clouds of black pollution loomed through the city of Synesta before them, wrapping their thick, sooty arms around its tall, dark, menacing buildings. Nina could hear the yells of people loitering near, a group of men jeering at each other. Judging from the slides their feet were making in the sand, she could tell they were more fighting than playing around. Ryu pulled the cruiser up and sat back on the bow. "Alright, here goes nothing!" he cried, grabbing onto the sides and tucking his legs in. He threw his weight forward, and let the cruiser coast down directly into those men.

* * *

Bourbon.

The only thing keeping him sane anymore.

King Issac Randolph Wynlan VII downed another shot as his bleary eyes stared down at that day's newspaper. They found Prince Vahn of Ludia's mutilated corpse in the forests near Chamba. The council was blaming one of Vahn's acquaintances, an otherwise unknown foxwoman. He knew better. Jaxx informed him right away of how difficult his daughter was being. He'd heard she'd been responsible for Ivory's death, but to be enough to kill one of the souls inside of _Zeth Alabaster?_ What if she came back here? What if she really _was_ an invincible god of darkness? Would she ever forgive him for sending her to Ludia?

With a shaky hand, he poured himself another shot. Liquid spilled onto his desk. The bottle clinked against his glass and it broke in his hand. Ignoring the shards in his flesh and his adviser's frantic screaming for Lisele, he turned the bottle up and took the rest of his amnesia ambrosia down his throat and the front of his robes. He let go of the depleted bottle, it shattered on the floor. Glassy eyes went to his beautiful domed ceiling. His cheeks and lips were numb. He could no longer feel the glass jutting out of him.

Ah there it was. His ambrosia's beautiful black heaven of nothingness, far away from his murderous daughter plotting his demise and this whole godsdamn world.

He closed his eyes and let his only friend put him to sleep.

* * *

"Are ya serious?! Even afta payin' those heala's ya'll _still _can afford somnthin' like this?!" Kittah wowed, walking through their suite like her feet were going to set the floor on fire. Wolfie padded along cautiously, eying and sniffing everything.

"Hell we's ain't stayin' here but a night or so, right? We's got plenty! I can always go to tha nearest bar an' make all o' this back if'n it's a prob, ya kno'? C'mon, loosin' up, we deserve it!" Gray laughed, walking towards an island bar in the middle of a wide-span, steely kitchen. He opened a compartment built into it and pulled out a couple of bottles with a grin. "Oo guys, wouldya look at this?"

Nina crossed the main room's soft pinkish carpet floor gingerly with bare feet, past Ryu lounging on a black leather sectional and Kittah padding her way to Gray, over to glass doors leading out to the room's balcony. "Caleb we ain't got time fo' any o' that," the cat girl said, shaking her head.

"Sho' we do! Tell 'er, Ryu!"

The dragon was leaning back. From there he could see into the downstairs bedroom where Remy was wrapped up sound asleep. "I think I'll pass."

"Aww, ya's no fun, ya kno' that? Hey Shyloh, give it back!" Gray reached for the bottle she took. Kittah snatched up the other when his back was turned.

Nina opened the doors and stepped out onto the balcony. They pulled closed behind her, muffling the noises of her rowdy party.

It was unbearably hot and her dragon skin felt even hotter. She peeled a little of her tank top off her stomach. The contrast to her arms was shocking. With Vahn's generous donation to them, Synesta's most expensive healers were able to cure the sunburn from both her and Ryu, along with everyone else's injuries, though the aftereffects still remained. Ryu was almost darker than the dark duo and (surprise!) Nina now had her first tan.

She sat down at a table near the railing. There was a crystal vase on it housing some long stemmed white flowers. Magical flames flickered inside a space in the vase underneath the flowers, giving the table a soft ringed glow. She took off her boots and rolled up both pants legs, then turned her head towards a small fan oscillating beside the vase. She wished she could wear shorts, but it wasn't a good idea to show _any _skin in the desert. Hopefully she could find something lightweight at a shop to cover up out there, otherwise this place was going to be miserable. If only she could install this heaven sent fan into a hood...

Sounds of the city clamored below. Music, machinery, dogs barking, people yelling. Nina gazed out at equally tall buildings with their bright florescent lights displayed across them. Signs of all shapes and sizes flickered above and below. Black streams of smoke oozed by; thank the stars Vahn's charity bought rooms high enough to take refuge from it. She looked out over the buildings. To think she thought _Chamba_ was a big city; it was barely half the size of this place! Gray had told her not to be too awestruck with even this. If they ever made it to Coursair, the real 'Sin City', then she'd "fo' sho'" be amazed. Either way, she had never seen this many different sorts of people gathered all at once, except for maybe her execution. There were even a good amount of Wyndians here! A few were in balconies just like hers in the other buildings, laughing and drinking with one another. A human with spiky brown hair whistled up at her, flexed a shirtless torso when she peered curiously down.

The doors opened and Kittah poked out her head. "Oi, Nina, wanna go out in tha city? Everyone's goin', even Ryu. Said 'e needed new clothes, soon as possible."

"What about Remy?"

"Ryu said she can stay in tha room by 'erself. If'n she stay asleep, it prob be fine."

Nina wanted to. Night life in this big city sounded so much more interesting than the trees she'd been staring at back in the forest every night_, _yet she could barely entertain the thought of it. She was dead tired. "No, I think I'm going to turn in for the night. I don't really feel comfortable leaving an eight year old on her own in a place like this anyways. What if she wanders off when she wakes up because she doesn't know where she is?"

Kittah nodded. "'Good point, I reckon. I'll tell Ryu." She made a face, her tail twitched at her feet. "I was sorta hopin' ya'd come tho'."

"What about tomorrow?" Nina asked, tossing her bangs back and smiling, "Just you and me? I'd invite Shyloh, but I'm not sure she likes me too much..."

Kittah brightened. "Shy jus takes some gittin' used ta, she ain't all bad when ya git ta kno' 'er. Fo' sho' ya can count on me. It be a date!" She stepped back into the room and spoke to Ryu on the couch. He leaned back and stared at Nina through the glass almost upside-down while she did. Nina braced herself when he stood and walked over to the door. With his 'I'm _really _serious face' he raised up his left arm and pinched his wrist, then cocked his head and raised his eyebrows questioningly. She nodded. Pinch there and he would come, yeah she got it.

Huh, so there was enough respect now for her to be left alone, she thought as the door to the suite closed shut behind them.

_For the most part, you've been thinking a lot more like him lately. He is noticing this._

She thought about Ryu's soul saying this while smiling at her like he did in her dreams.

_Ah...I'm not quite that handsome, I don't think._

She jolted herself up from the table, just missing a hit to the knee that would have surely brought physical Ryu bounding back. Bed. Now. She had to sleep, had to turn her mind off. What the hell was this? No privacy, _ever_! He didn't respond. She didn't know what she would've said if he had, but he knew that didn't he? Didn't he already know everything?

Bed. _Seriously._

She stumbled down to the room Remy was in. Her vision blurred. She was so very, very tired. Wolfie barked at her from the bed. She "Shh'ed" him. He was going to wake up Remy! The bed. That's what she needed. She climbed in. Wolfie was barking at her again. He sounded so far away...

She was out before she finished the thought.

* * *

Sea green eyes popped open. Tiny hands flew to Wolfie's muzzle and squeezed it shut. "Will you _stop it, _you stupid _mutt?!_" hissed Remy, twisting. The dog held its ground, growling at her fiercely. She scowled. "I'm tired of dealing with you like this, Lesley! Have the decency to speak your mind as a _person_."

Wolfie stopped growling. Tawny eyes flickered to Nina. The little girl sighed. "Look at her, she's dead asleep. Why so worried?" the dog resumed his growling louder when amusement crept into that scowl. He pulled his muzzle out of her grip and hopped back. "Jaxx always says to play nice! Just _talk _to me!"

The dog snorted and snatched a blanket from the end of the bed, padding out of the room and up the stairs with it. Remy followed. When she reached the top, there was a man seated on the couch with nothing on his otherwise naked, toned body than that same blanket wrapped around his waist. Remy cocked her head thoughtfully. "I'm always surprised at how you can hide your piercings, but not clothes. I mean, that's just a recipe for an uncomfortable situation!"

Lesley narrowed his eyes underneath unruly, shaggy copper hair and heavily studded eyebrows. "Leave, Adelaide. Now." he growled, nervously clicking a tongue stud against his teeth. Two uneven locks of his hair on either side of his head bound by dark red string brushed against his cheeks.

Adelaide giggled, shaking her head. _"_You _are_ aware of how much she's worth?"

"Yea, like everybody. But she don't deserve none of this trash bein' thrown out by the papers 'bout her so she don't deserve us houndin' her. She's a good person. You know she is."

Adelaide's childish face showed no sympathy. "I'm sorry, what exactly am I hearing? Your deal is what, you afraid your little girlfriend will get caught in the crossfire? You think she'll find out your dirty little secret? How long have to been her damn pet anyways? I'm sure Ironsides asked you to keep an eye on her from a _distance._" Lesley scowled and turned away from her. She tried to stifle an awkward laugh and failed. "Oh Gods, how funny do you think he would find this? I can just _see _his face now..."

"It ain't like that!" he exploded.

"I wonder if killing you here would be merciful." she added nonchalantly, then laughed again. Tawny orbs shifted back. Adelaide hummed to herself, idly bouncing on one foot.

Adelaide Kilgore, the youngest member of the AG, though she wasn't quite as young as everyone perceived. Adelaide looked to you like whatever Adelaide wanted you to see, which was usually a very young girl. It was much easier for her to work her magic that way. Same reason her brother looked the way he did. Lesley licked dry lips, running his tongue over a ring through the left side. Since he was also AG, she wasn't allowed to manipulate anything else but his perception of her. Right now, she was still mimicking Isabella Wynlan up to her eyes. She always had trouble with the eyes. "Addy, Listen 'aight?" The girl cocked her head, ringlets on either side tied with ribbons bounced. Since he was AG she wasn't allowed to do anything to him...unless she declared conflict to Jaxx, which he had certainly already given her plenty of grounds for... "Back off this one. I'll owe ya, aight?"

"Since when do mutts have income?"

His jaw clenched. Fighting her was going to be a pain and he couldn't very well do it here. Not where Kittah might see him. Gods forbid Dexter showed up... "Jus' let me owe you a favor, Adelaide! It ain't that hard!"

"I wasn't going to bother the cat girl unless she interfered if that's your problem."

That _was_ the problem. Lesley's brow furrowed and he muttered, "Nina's Kittah's friend," before he could stop himself.

Adelaide's tiny hands went to her cheeks, her face purpled from holding in laughter, "Wow, Dex was _right. _You really _have_ turned into a puss-"

Rustling came from the bedroom down below. Lesley hurriedly transformed back into his canine form. Adelaide turned to see Nina appear at the top of the stairs rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What's going on, Remy? I heard a man's voice?"

"The doggie was being _bad _so I told him who was boss!" the little girl cried crossing her arms and jutting her chin out. "A-and I yelled at him while I was on the porch so you probably heard one of those men out there!"

Nina furrowed her brow and ran her hands through her hair, glancing up at a clock on the wall. "Ah, he probably needs a walk." She paused, looking sleepily at Wolfie waiting tentatively. "Wait, why aren't you with Kittah?" He whined questioningly. She shrugged and pat her hand against her leg. "C'mon boy, you wanna go outside?" The dog barked and bounded towards the door. "Whoa, not so fast speedy, let me put my boots on." He clawed at the door ruthlessly. "Hey, Wolfie, stop! They'll make us pay for that!" She donned her boots, grabbed Adelaide's waiting hand and followed Wolfie out of the door.

* * *

"Ya think Nina'd like this, Ryu?" Kittah asked the dragon, holding up a shirt with a large cartoon drawing of a cat on it. Ryu shrugged, running his fingers over a row of chain-mail lined black leather hooded jackets on a rack. A grassrunner three times his size hunkered down beside him, doing the same. "Ya's prob right," Kittah said, "She needs sumthin' mo' pract'cal-like."

"Ya hafta wear tha goggles Shy, othawise ya's gonna go blind out there!" Gray argued with Shyloh, holding up a pair of dark goggles lined in blue plastic. "C'mon on now, they's cute an' way high fashin out in tha dunes! Right, Kittah? Ain't ya seen some o' these in ya's girlie magazines?"

Ryu plucked out one of the jackets and tried it on. Some girls near him giggled and whispered to each other about the torn, dirty pants he was still wearing. He answered by dropping them to the floor. Kittah's mouth went with them. He was covered by the jacket but still! "R-Ryu! Y-y-y-y-ya can't do that _here_! Theys got _rooms _fo' that!" she hissed. He ignored her and reached over to a shelf past the grassrunner's grunting oblivious form and picked out a lightweight beige pair suitable for the desert. With half the store watching, he slipped them on. He then took off the heavy jacket and peeled his sweat stained red rag of a shirt from his skin.

The girls were _really _whispering now. '_Look at_ that_!' 'What are all those marks on his back?' 'They could say he was the devil and I wouldn't care!' _He ignored them and slipped on a light hooded robe of the same material as the pants after he pulled the shirt over his head. He donned the jacket again and looked to Kittah, Gray and Shyloh staring at him. "Get these for me. I'm going to check on Nina and the kid." They watched him bound off into the swelling crowd outside.

Gray shrugged when his sister and Shyloh looked to him. "Eh, a dragon's gonna do what a dragon damn well wants ta do, ya kno'?."

* * *

Ryu dove into the shadows as soon as he felt safe doing so. A few beggars may have seen him, but drugs, dementia and the heat made people see a lot of things. He scaled the fire escape ladder of one of the city's taller buildings to the roof.

He had known something was wrong this entire time, just couldn't voice it, could barely even think it!

_She's the one, or one of the ones that must have been responsible for the courtyard in Ludia. _

Influential magic, and Ladon was it damn _strong_ for being so subtle. The farther he got away from Remy, the more he could focus on the red flags that had already risen in front of him waving madly. That little witch had tried to stab Nina twice and no one had thought much of it. He had acted on a whim, making the girl sit with him on the cruiser, a very faint feeling he wasn't even able to conform into an actual, logical thought...yet the dog... How was the _dog _able to withstand her?! It didn't make any sense! Ryu leaped from one building to the next, hands and feet scrabbling on the tiny rocks pebbling their roofs.

_Don't be so hard on yourself!  
_

They'd shown doubt in the beginning. How did she get to the forest from Synesta? How could she speak woren? She was a child! She told them she drove the cruiser through the treacherous Frostlands. Wait, what? And they never asked how a _child _could do that until a brief moment of clarity after the sandworm nearly scared them all out of their skins? Then they crash and everyone suddenly becomes even more enamored with her at the infirmary? Ryu had an eye glued to her back in the suite without a shred of comprehension on why he felt such a need to. This was cheating, the most underhanded kind of magic there was!

_Maybe she really did faint from that beast?_

That made him cock a smile, "You're probably right, even her poker heart beat a little faster at that."

Nina's soul paused, took in the anxiety brewing within her dragon casing. _Relax. I'm not hurt, yeah?_

His smile disappeared as he ran like a cat over uneven buildings, the chain mail lining the hood on his new jacket illuminated even in the shadow world by Synesta's florescent PAWN, ARMOR/WEAPONS, REPAIR, PUB, GRUB, HOTEL, GIRLS!, 2MANYGIRLS!...etc signs. He overestimated a gap where a large neon red outline of an almost naked woman lying on yet another WOWSOMANYGIRLS sign stretched its length. Luckily it was trash day at the restaurant he landed on, and a mountain of bags cushioned his slam into its wall.

"Yet. You aren't hurt, yet," he growled to the soul, crawling out of the mess miraculously without anything too pungent joining him. Nina was really tired and it was throwing off his depth perception. Tired and...was that poison? It was hard to tell. It didn't matter anyways, her dragon body would neutralize it before it was able to do its full intended damage, though the handicap was going to be annoying. "But if you keep buying into her 'little sister' ruse... Gods you're letting her get so godsdamn _close_!"

_Oh really? You say you wouldn't be phased by someone looking like Ana. _

Ryu shook his head, hurdling over a group of fences. "Ana is dead. Nothing anyone can conjure will ever bring her back so there's no use fawning over something that reminds me of her."

_Be happy there's _any_ shred of love in my heart after how many times the Kaiser's tried to ravage it. _

"I _am_," he said, squeezing through a tiny gap between two pubs and jumping over another torn fence covered in barbed wire, "I know I may have said I did before, but I don't think now I want you to be so much like me."

_But you_ _think it's stupid, this thing called a conscience._

"Yeah," he said, jumping down into an alleyway and taking off down it, "Case and point."

He could feel the magic now, wriggling its tiny, deceptive fingers into his senses.

_I will do my best to help you see behind her facade.  
_

Ryu snorted. "If you were capable of that, why didn't you do so before?"

_Getting away so I could actually recognize it helped. Wait, i-it was the same for you, ass!_

"I don't think you can do it," retorted the dragon, using the alley wall to avoid a pile of sleeping homeless crowding the ground. He rounded a corner, skidding on a puddle of greasy mud. "But please, feel free to prove me very wrong."

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry this is not as long as I promised some, but I felt I would have rushed the next part if I tried to write it now. Christmas was crazy, work is just now getting back to its slow days. Good thing because I got an ipad (yay!) and I'm using the downtime to paint Benevolent Monsters' cover! I'm trying to put a lot of detail in it, but don't expect too much, I'm pretty much a virgin when it comes to digital art and really painting in general so it's slow going and mostly an experiment.

Thank you so much as always for all the love!


	27. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-six**

___See? You Always Know What To Say When it Counts._

Lesley barreled through piles of moldy, broken down boxes and trash alongside a group of frightened rats, cats and bugs, tail aflame from flank to tip.

Rather it wasn't on fire, she was just making him _think_ it was. You couldn't believe anything about her in a fight, _nothing. _Nothing she was saying to you, nothing she was doing, nothing around her! She could almost take total sensory control over her victims! He squeezed his eyes closed, tried hard to picture the flames licking at his fur being doused. No good. Godsdamnit it hurt, but it _wasn't real!_

A childish whistle echoed down the alley in eerie, minor chords. "Le~sley? Did ya come down he~re?"

No declaration to Jaxx or anything! Soon as they all got out of the building, she took off from Nina and him and when he found her a few blocks away, _boom_, his tail exploded into an inferno! He should have expected it, in fact _did_ expect it, but for some reason, deep down, he felt that maybe, just maybe there was a slim possibility he could get her to, well, show some damn empathy for once in her life? He snorted, dragging his tail through the sand caking the walls, hoping doing the action of putting out the flames would actually put them out. He had been a godsdamn trusting little mongrel for far too long-

Nina appeared on the other end of the alleyway, and Lesley could do nothing to stop from careening into her. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprising if she really was a dragon, her legs took the impact like they were made of steel. "Wolfie! I'm _so_ sorry! I put up my scales on reflex! Are you alright?" The dog stumbled off of her shins. He gathered his footing and, realizing the only pain he was feeling now was the physical from that impact, looked back at his unscathed tail. Hitting her must've redirected his senses enough to break the magic. Nina reached for him, he barked and hopped back. His legs were killing him, but he didn't let it show. His body would heal itself when it could. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Good...Kittah would probably kill me if anything happened to you."

"Oh? About time you caught up!"

Nina looked up. Lesley lowered his head and growled. Adelaide stood near, shrouded in the darkness of the alleyway, smiling away. "Remy! You shouldn't run away like that! This city is dangerous! What if any of those bad men come back after you?"

"Those bad men are the least of anyone's worries."

Lesley glanced up at Nina. He had to change, now. But _how?_ He would be naked! Cover, cover, cover, cover, cover, cover, cover why wasn't there any?-_there!_

"Remy?" asked Nina cautiously. The dog's ears pricked at her uncertainty. Was she starting to see through the charade?

Adelaide didn't say anything for awhile. Her eyes rested unnervingly on Lesley. Damnit he couldn't move while they were! "You're part dragon now too, aren't you Angel of Death?"

Nina blinked. Her fists clenched. She cocked her head, brow twitching.

"My clan's old. Almost as old as dragons. _Very _difficult to fully manipulate, I remember reading, and it's true, I'm actually having to concentrate a good bit." Green flecked with blue orbs flickered up to Nina's struggling face.

Lesley took that split second to take off around the corner towards a relatively clean looking towel hanging from a low apartment window. He took it into his jaws and dove behind a dumpster. Adelaide's smile faded. "Go on, Lesley, keep up your foolishness! I'm gonna let Dex know how much of a damn traitor you are _right now_!"

_Shit!_ That was the one thing he _did _believe she would do!

With his back against the dumpster, Lesley hurriedly tied the once baby blue knee length towel around his waist.

"I'm tellin' him your girlfriend attacked me too, hehheh, she's _de~ad _you hear me?"

Lesley gripped a handful of sand, and with his brows low darted out.

Not on his life.

* * *

Nina had lost track of Wolfie. Kittah would kill her, but it didn't matter now.

Isabella was standing before her.

Sweet little Izzie she missed so much...

...Wait, she was talking? What was she saying? A hug? She needed a hug? Of course she could have one! How silly of her to ask! Nina stepped forward, arms outstretched. "Isabella, you're such a funny little girl sometimes-"

_Don't._

"Oi, stop!"

A hand gripped her shoulder. She looked back into the stern, copper colored eyes of a very well in shape man about Ryu's age with shaggy reddish hair, a lot of facial piercings, and nothing but a towel separating her from the suit he came into this world with. "Everythin' 'bout that girl is a lie. I mean it, Nina, don't believe _nothin _outta her mouth, ya hear me? Question everythin' ya see!"

Nina's glazed vision cleared a bit. "Who...are...?"

* * *

"Lesley Darkmeadows, what exactly do you think you can do? You're already too late."

The Wyndian's eyes widened at his name. Lesley spat to her, "Yea, I kno' I'm AG, but if you can believe it, I'm on y'alls side!"

Adelaide stomped her foot. Fire arced out of the ground around her adorably over sized boots. She brought one of her arms in front of her and pulled the sleeve back to reveal a communicator on her wrist. "Confirming your treachery, huh?"

"_Nothing_," Lesley repeated to Nina, then turned to the little girl literally fuming in the alleyway. Parlor tricks. He had to remember in the end that was all they were! "I ain't lettin' up. I told ya there ain't no need to put her down!" He snarled, adding darkly, "And now that ya've threatened Kittah...all deals are off!"

"So where'd ya end up finding your balls, Lesley?"

"They where theys always been 'aight? An' whatta 'bout you, huh?" he sneered, "It ain't like ya to beat 'round tha bush, why wait to put on yo' big show 'till we all got out here?"

Adelaide stomped harder, "'Cuz Dex told me to wait until I met him here if I possibly could, but he wasn't able to leave yet and you've been getting on my nerves so _godsdamn_ much I can't wait on him, I want you _gone_!"

Suddenly Nina grasped at her chest and dropped to her knees beside Lesley. One of her hands flew to his. He gripped it and tried to help her back up; her legs wobbled and failed her. Pleading amber shot up. Lips already parted from her frantic gasping opened more to bite down on a trembling wrist it looked to have taken all she had left to raise up. Struggling eyes rolled back into her head, the shaman caught her as she fell against him. Adelaide laughed sharply. The fires of rage around her disappeared. "Ha! See, I told you it was done!" With great effort, Lesley hoisted the heavy dragon girl over his shoulder. "Whew, I can't believe it took this long for it to fully kick in! Dragons sure are resilient!"

Lesley's bare feet sunk deep into grimy, sand. His calf muscles spasmed. His teeth ground together so hard he was sure there were sparks. Strength wasn't his forte, this wasn't going to work! He glanced around. No, he couldn't just leave her, anything could happen out here!

_Beep, beepbeepbeep, _Adelaide was pressing buttons. A violet sign of an inn above them flickered to life, streaking her spreading grin with neon light. Lesley struggled in vain to walk. Damnit, not even a single step! "Hello? Hey Dex, I- Dex? Oh, geez a recording. Well, I-I'm leaving a message, Lesley, and he'll get it real soon! He's only in Coursair! She won't make it far!" She looked down, finally realized how difficult of a time he was having. Her young face lit up even more. "Aw, dragons aren't too light, are they dogboy?"

"No, we aren't."

Black fabric appeared before Lesley, his burden was lifted from him. A hand roughly mussed his hair. "Good boy. I got it from here." The shaman blinked up at the dragon's toothy smile. Ryu let go of him and turned around, heaving Nina over his right shoulder as easily as if she were nothing more than another cloak. "You," he growled to Adelaide's unchanged expression, "I'm tired of you screwing around with us."

"Before you go in, listen to me!" Lesley blurted, "Don't believe nothin' she says-"

"I know what I'm dealing with," shot Ryu back.

"But yo' girl she's—"

"Poisoned. I can feel it."

"Y-ya and I'm...well I guess ya know that too."

"Dex, I need you to come to Synesta as soon as possible, Lesley, yes _that _Lesley's here trying to stop me from taking in the Angel, he's a damn traitor and told her right in front of me he was on her side, an' Ironsides' kid, the girl one, _hit _me-" Sand arched from the walls and became hands grabbing Adelaide's arms. Lesley, chanting and crumbling sand in his palms, forced his hands apart. Her arms mimicked the motion, the one with the communicator a little slower since he had to crack apart that annoying machine first. She cackled, "Doesn't matter! The message will still send! He's going to _fi~nd_ her!"

Ryu's left blade sliced cleanly through her body from behind. Lesley started. No! He couldn't kill her yet! Good, she got away in time, the dragon sliced into a copy that fell away into water. He stabbed frantically at it seeping into the ground. "Hey, dragon! Yo, c'mere, don't be doin' all that mess jus' yet!" Ryu stopped piercing and faded into the shadows.

"Why not?" His deep brogue was suddenly inches away from Lesley's ear.

The shaman jumped away, looking back into inhuman eyes. Geez, this guy. "I-I'm a shaman, see? I ain't aware of what all ya kno' 'bout us, but I'm special 'cause I'm an expert in all our talents. Geomancin', nature bondin', healin' and fusin' if necessary."

"What are you trying to say?" The dragon's pale orbs searched for Adelaide. His dirty hand gripped Nina tighter. Knowing her, she was probably a box on the ground right near them.

"That I can heal her poison, but I gotta find out what kind it is before I'm able to."

"She's a dragon. We're resistant to toxins for the most part. In time it should sort itself out."

"No you don't understand, she ain't in the guild fo' nothin'!"

Anger flashed. "I'm not scared of any-" Ryu staggered back. A pile of trash on the ground became Adelaide with a knife in his gut.

"Little girl?" she asked, laughing.

* * *

He could hear her relentlessly tearing at her nails. She was anxious, her chair rapped rapidly against the wall with her trembling. The toe of her shoe tapped the cement floor with sporadic rhythm. At first he figured he would ignore her, but minutes quickly became hours and hours an entire night.

_Click, click, clickity, clickity, click, clickity, clickity_

He was tired of it. "If you're waiting to follow me as I go exact textbook revenge on the Angel, you're going to be sitting there for much longer," Zeth's monotone voice drawled. Black eyes opened slowly and moved to her.

Chasta looked worse for wear. Sophia was one of many healers on the darker side of the spectrum, the head one in Chamba. She had access to all sorts of healing alternatives, taboo as well as normal medical supplies crucial to any operating room. One such taboo was amplifiers. Two to three shots over the course of a few weeks guaranteed you on your feet, no matter what physical damage you were in, granted your body could withstand the treatment itself. He knew she had opted for twice as many doses. One of the cursed contraptions adorned her bony wrist now. _Spiritual__ cannibalism, _remarked Sesimhan in his head.

Shadowed emeralds peered at him through thick bangs. "Then find me someone who's not a complete cowar-" she collapsed into a coughing fit, holding herself with weak arms. More shots meant a faster recovery, but their administration was such a shock to the body, by the time the impatient patient usually got used to them, the treatment was almost over. He was doing the same. Using up Wyndian souls didn't bother him in the least bit.

"I refuse."

Chasta slowly pulled her head up, crimson flecked bloodless, cracked lips, "But you're...the damn AG..."

"Which means I can choose whatever job I wish and I do not wish to be turned into a pile of gore like Vahn. I assume you were there when it happened? Does it not frighten you to think that's what it wanted to do to you?" Chasta continued to scowl. He was unfazed. "What reason would I have to help you anyhow? You have no money. I heard your negotiations with the prince." His dark eyes, made even darker by the shadows the harsh florescent light above them gave his face, were two black holes of indifference. "Lyut is gone. Even a healthy you could not tempt me."

Tears trickled down Chasta's bruised cheeks, she wiped them away awkwardly, "She has...to die..."

"It'll happen eventually."

"I want to see it with my own eyes!" Excitement brought on another bout of coughing.

Footsteps frantically echoed down the hallway. Zeth's door flew open. "Chasta?!" Sophia ran to her gasping sister. "What are you doing, you're in no condition to be out of bed!" Pale arms fought to keep the older sibling away. "Chasta, stop it!"

"Get away! Zeth's...taking me...to Nina...!"

Sophia held down Chasta's arms, cut her eyes to Zeth. "Is she serious?" Zeth shook his head.

"Yes...I am! She's going...s-s-she's going to die-no, _no _no needles! Not fair Not...faaaaaiirrr..." Chasta fell limp. Sophia slipped an empty syringe back into her lab coat.

"You might as well put her down for good, sedating her will only delay the inevitable."

Sophia picked Chasta up in her arms. "I won't do that."

"Your sister was the catalyst for the beast raging inside of that black winged monster. If she gets anywhere near her again..." Zeth turned his black holes to her, "I wonder how many her rage will fell?"

"N...i...na..." Chasta whimpered. Sophia bit her lip.

* * *

Bulging eyes darted down. Adelaide threw a handful of black powder into Ryu's face. He couldn't breathe, it was burning his sinuses, his eyes! She yanked out the knife and suddenly there were hundreds of blurry hers, all holding knives. Laughing, they piled onto him, stabbing wherever they could. He could feel them all.

_The first one was real, but the others aren't! Snap the hell out of it, Ryu! _Nina's soul tore through the pain, yanking him back to reality. He shakily stood back up.

Lesley turned and busted open a sputtering window air conditioning unit with a fist covered in rock, purified the tiny stream of water escaping it, and threw it into the dragon's face. It helped his eyes, but the black substance already in his nose threw him into a sneezing fit. The army of girls faded. A bird flew down and landed on Nina's back. Before Ryu or Lesley could react, it turned into Adelaide driving a knife though the Wyndian's shoulder with both hands. The shaman swung at her, she disappeared into a thickening gray fog spreading around them. More sneezing. Crimson squirted from Ryu's shoulder and stomach with each one. Where were his scales?

The little girl materialized and sliced up the inside of Lesley's naked thigh through his towel. He collapsed to the ground, holding the gaping wound closed with both of his hands, frantically chanting. Ghost-like threads formed from his fingers and sewed it shut.

"You're all done fo~r," her voice echoed through the alleyway.

Ryu cemented his free hand to his abdomen. It wasn't enough to stop the blood. Rivers of crimson ran as freely though his fingers as water would...he had never seen it flow like this before. Lesley clamped his hand down over his and Ryu marveled at the wriggling glowing threads fighting to seal his cut. "What ya got a bad memory, Addy? Soon as it kicks in I'll know how to neutralize...it...an' then I'll..I'll..." he slurred. He made a face, swayed. Ryu grabbed his arm before he fell backwards. "Whaaathahelllisthis..."

Adelaide's voice again came at them from everywhere at once because she _was _everywhere. On the ground, on the rooftops, in the windows, standing on mountains of rubbish, all giggling at them. Ryu tried to glare at all of her. "I had to make something potent enough for him, so of course it'd be too strong for you to handle." She smiled at Ryu. "Who'd of thought thinning out your blood so much would stop your scales from regenerating you, huh dragonboy?" The dragon growled at her. "Haha, I told you I know a l~ot of things!"

"Thoughtyou...wanted Dex'ta take careo'me..." Lesley slurred. Ryu's legs were jelly. The shaman's just didn't work.

"No, I was going to give him your girlfriend. Killing you both will be _my _pleasure."

"But...Jaxxsh..."

"I don't have to declare you. You've been gone for over two years now. So what you reported you were 'near' the Angel; no ones gives a damn about you. They especially won't when they learn about your obsession with Ironsides' daughter!"

Lesley grasped the front of Ryu's jacket and pulled him down to his level sharply. "Lissen...I canshtill stoppit I ...think..." his eyes rolled back, Ryu backhanded his cheek. The shaman grit his teeth and threw his head forward, growling, "Goddsssdamnnit, jus findher..findherrealshelf an' shtopher I n-n...neeedmoretime..."

How could he do that? What would force her to come out in the open, the _real _her?

_A surrender.  
_

Ryu paused to consider. After a moment he smirked to an unseen eye. "I think I can work with that," he murmured, hoisting Lesley on his other shoulder. He stood as tall as his legs would allow him and roared into the air. "Alright, you win! You can have her!"

All the Adelaides stopped laughing. Hundreds of heads cocked. "Huh?"

Ryu held out Nina's limp body. "I said she's yours. I don't feel like wasting any more time on a losing battle."

The fog lifted and all the excess girls faded along with it. Adelaide appeared in front of him, looking curious, but still confident. Her hands went to her hips. Such arrogance. Coming out into the open only to gloat, wasting time striking a pose... The dragon kept his blood at a simmer. _Patience. It'll be her downfall._

"Mighty quick change of heart," she said, then shrugged, scoffing, "But I suppose it _is _pointless to keep struggling; the poison will claim you both soon enough. Very well, hand her over."

Ryu grinned. "As you wish!" He tossed Nina to her. Adelaide caught the Wyndian, fell to her knees from her weight and both of Ryu's blades speared through both sides of the astonished little girl's body. Bone resistance. Good. Nina's collarbone obstructed his view. His arms around her twitched; the assassin wasn't dead yet. He pushed the blades further in. Nina slumped against Lesley with the movement and Ryu saw what Adelaide Kilgore really looked like.

She wasn't a child. Early twenties at most, with long dark hair and a nose too big for the canvas it was on. Very plain. Well, would have been if the agony she was in wasn't painted all over it. Feeling immensely better he wasn't doing this to a child, evil or not, he decided not to torture her any longer and ripped the blades out.

Ryu stood and stumbled back into the wall still holding his friends, and slid down until he was sitting. Chunks of sand dusted them all. Blood and flesh painted the alleyway. "Hold still," he heard Lesley order and felt the shaman's body temperature rise even through his jacket and the heat. Or had he been that warm all along?

"What are you...?" and then he sensed the energy flowing into him. The horrendous hot flashes and waves of nausea plaguing him vanished. His arms and legs tingled with returning feeling.

Lesley moved against the wall beside him. Ryu could feel the shaman's aura still circulating inside. "Hand me Nina," he said. Ryu obliged, sitting her back against him. Lesley wrapped his arms around her, as he did they both began to radiate a soft white glow. "Adelaide prob'ly been poisonin' her since we found 'er, and upped the dosage for you when she realized it wasn't working fast enough." The shaman grabbed the side of Nina's head, touched his cheek to her collarbone, her neck. "She was really good with chemicals an' stuff. _Very _intelligent. All that kid stuff earlier, her half-assed attempts in stabbin' Nina, it was probably all to throw me off thinkin' I only had to worry 'bout her."

He noticed Ryu's eyes on him. He couldn't _not_. There was no malice, in fact to the naked eye, they harbored no emotion at all, but to the _warrior._..a tiny chill rolled down his spine.

"I'm a different kind o' healer than all tha others in my clan," Lesley explained quickly, separating himself from the Wyndian slightly. The closer he got to a person, the better he could control the energy flow, but somehow he didn't think her other guard dog would allow it. "Shamans do magic by drawin' in tha spiritual energy of whatever nature is around them and manipulatin' it. I work in the same way, but I ain't got no off switch for the drawin'." Ghost threads crisscrossed over the wound in Nina's shoulder as scales began to fill it. "I have more energy flowin' through me than a normal body's supposed ta handle at any time so I had ta find out as many ways as I could ta vent it out. The obvious was ta try transferrin' it ta other people who needed it. That's when I figgered out I wasn't like the othas.

"Everyday ones purify tha energy through them and then automatically release tha link when they transfer inta theys patient, but my link would always stay intact without me doing a thing, long as I was close." He lifted Nina's arm, dragged glowing fingertips up it. Ryu watched bits of greenish black bubbles leak out of her skin and travel back through the energy into Lesley. "Physical stuff heals on its own, but poison an' disease are a different story. If I'm connected, I can find what's wrong an' absorb it, then my body will purify it, granted it's already been introduced to it by normal means ta begin wit. That was why I didn't want ya ta kill Adelaide so early on, I had ta get 'er to poison me in order to become the antidote ya kno'?"

The dragon's brow knitted as he took all of this in. "I don't understand. I can't sense any of this 'massive amount of energy' radiating from you even now. In fact, you've never smelled like anything other than a dog to me, either."

"I also ain't a part of the guild for nothin' ya kno'. I have to focus alot in canine form ta smell that way! An' how else ya think I hide these piercin's?" Lesley looked away, mentioning the guild again reminded him of the two members he wasn't looking forward to. He absently drummed fingers he wasn't used to on Nina. "Ah...listen, bro, are you...can I ask you to, well..." he swallowed, "K-Kittah, ya know, Gray's sister...don't need to know about me. In fact I don't want no one to know. I-I mean I'm gonna tell her a-and everyone eventually, but...right now...it ain't...I ain't..."

Ryu looked indifferent. "You protected Nina. I won't tell."

The shaman flushed, "I don't, ya kno', _spy _on her or nothin', I mean sometimes I can't help it, she carries me to bed n' all and sometimes would want talk to me while she was taking a bath or changin', but I swear I've never-w-wait, you won't?"

"It's none of my business."

"Heh, right...it ain't." Stunned at his cooperation, Lesley blinked and touched his forehead to Nina's for a few more breaths, figuring he bought a little trust for the time being. "Okay, take her back before she crushes my legs." Ryu did. Lesley stood and stretched, making sure he turned the huge slash in his towel to the side. "Now hold onto her like I was." Ryu raised an eyebrow. "I transferred a lot inta ya. She ain't gonna need much more. I'll get Kittah an' bring er' back here...I'd...ratha Nina not wake up ta me. I ain't really up to gettin' stuck havin' to explain nothin', ya kno? An' if Kittah happened to drop on by an' see me..." The dragon put his arms around Nina. Lesley toyed with the ring in his lip, looking to Adelaide's remains scattered on the sand. "Godsdamnit, if only she wasn't kin ta godsdamn _Dexter Kilgore_," he cursed, voice low, "When he finds this out...," his gaze went back to Ryu holding his cheek against his other half's, a cynical smile formed. "I suppose when he finds us, I might hafta hit you up for a favor, bro. Me an' Kit both." Ryu watched the shaman transform back into Wolfie. The raggedy towel he was wearing fell to the ground. The dog bowed his head sharply and scampered away.

Ryu leaned his head back against the wall. Nina's rested on his shoulder. He pulled in the shadows around them; stared at flickering signs above him though violet tinged air.

_"Are you alright, Master?" _Merybel's voice floated up from the Wyndian's earrings.

He smiled, "Mery! Nice to hear you again. Yes, thanks to him, we'll be fine. No need to worry."

"_Another healer... Pretty lucky, dontcha think?"_

"Hmm? I'd have thought you'd be jealous," he teased.

_"No, dummy! I rather like you having someone else here to help while I'm busy keeping this dummy here incognito, thank you very much!"_

Ryu felt the _snap _in the back of his head notifying him Nina was awake.

"...who's...in...?"

_"Great, she's awake. I'm leaving, Master. I'm glad you're alright and there was at least _someone _here worth a damn_ _earlier."_

"_Mery__!_" he hissed. No response. He sighed.

Faint sounds of the city managing to steal into the shadow world floated by him, supported by the steady drum beating inside the Wyndian in his arms.

"What...happened...?" came her weak, breathy voice, "I can't...feel my arms or legs..."

"Poison."

"Oh. That...would do it..." She paused, stammered awkwardly as the drum skipped, "W-w-why...are we so..._close_? N-Nevermind...I can feel...wait? I-I...H-how are you able to...?"

"Because of Lesley."

"Les..." Her head moved slightly to the right to what was once Adelaide. "...I-Is that...?"

"Yes."

"She's...not a kid..."

"Yes, I was relieved as well."

"I knew... something was wrong..."

"Yes, I know."

His arms jumped when she suddenly gasped. "W-wait, you...said L-Lesley-!" Her head twitched back and forth with her frantic searching.

He 'shh'ed her. "Calm down, he's a friend."

"W-why would AG help...us? I don't...remember...anything he said to me... Did he...say anything?"

Ryu shrugged. "I don't know, but it seems like we have more people on our side than we originally thought."

Droplets of water plopped onto his forearms. Water? From where? No. Nina trembled against him. It was her tears raining down. "What...if it's all a lie? I...I'm... Remy was...I mean she was a little g-girl, sh-she looked so much like Izzie...but...Goddess, I'm such a _fool_...," she sobbed, "I almost...got you killed for the..." She clenched her teeth, "Damnit...th-there's no way to keep count of these times because there's too damn many!" she hiccuped, tried to swallow. "I...I-I like Kittah, I like Gray...and that usually means something is wrong! ...all of them...they could have poison dipped knives hidden behind their backs just the same! Are they really friends...or are they more heart stomping illusions this screwed up world insists on tormenting us with?!" she was getting hysterical. It was a good thing. More proof there was still some innocence trapped within the dragon cage forced upon her.

"Stop. Now," he said sternly, taking a thumb and wiping her eyes clear. A good thing, though they didn't have the luxury of letting any such outbursts last too long. Her heartbeat thundered in his ears. His head swam from all her hyperventilating, "You're no more of a fool than me. Without your soul I would've lost that fight. Now stop crying over stupid things."

She hiccuped again. "W-wait...what...?"

Ryu snorted, "I had trouble, I needed your soul. Go ahead, have at me. I can take it."

She paused for a long time. Her fingers twitched at her sides, he could feel her gaining her sense of touch back. She pushed her nails into her palms to check. Slowly, she raised a trembling hand to his arm. "Really...? I...was able to help you?" She asked, turning her head up at him. Shining eyes met his. "I can't believe-" He reached up and brushed her bangs back from her forehead gently. She froze, face suddenly flushing with an unknown fever. Her heart skipped, then beat until he was sure it was going to beat out of her chest. "-!"

He flicked her exposed forehead, hard. She squealed. "Yes, dummy, you did help me. You help me a lot more than you think. Now stop being a baby. You're not a weak little girl, you're a proud dragon warrior, remember?"

The fever broke. She cringed at him. "_Oww..._"

"_Remember?_"

"Yes, yes, I'm a dragon, I remember," she muttered, rubbing her forehead.

"That's right, and no matter what, it doesn't matter if they all turn on us, we have each other. It's the one thing we both know, or should know we can depend on, so don't ever forget that okay, dragon?"

Both of her hands gripped his arms tighter. Her eyes tore away from his. For some reason he was glad they did. "...thanks," she almost whispered.

Barking echoed down the alleyway. "Wolfie! Stop runnin' so fast! Where are ya goin'?!" Ryu unstealthed them both when Wolfie and Kittah rounded a corner near them. "Ryu? Nina? What-oh my _gods!_" Kittah cried out, hopping back from the abstract painting that was Adelaide.

Ryu stood and hoisted an astonished Nina over his shoulder. "Let's get back, we all have a lot to discuss," he said to the gagging woren and the whining dog circling her.

* * *

"Damn bro this be serious, an' I mean _serious,_" Gray paced back and forth in the kitchen, his giant clawed feet clicking across the tiled floor. Shyloh poured him a shot. He downed it. "I cain't believe I fo'got 'bout Dextah. Me Pa talked 'bout him once, back when I weren't nothin' but a cub, an' if'n my _Pa _was afraid... Gods I was only eight when I heard 'is name, but how could I fo'get?!"

"Ya said...he's afta, me? Wh-why me?" Kittah asked softly, looking as pale as a woren could. Nina sat beside her looking concerned, but not doing anything out of her way to show it. Still wary. Shame, but at least she was being cautious.

Ryu shrugged. "Adelaide wasn't very fond of you." It wasn't a complete lie. His eyes flickered to Lesley staring at him. Why didn't he notice the intelligence in the little mutt's before?

"Pa's got a scar down 'is left eye. The eye works, jus' it ain't so pretty no more. Dextah made 'im do that ta 'is damn _self. _Along wit' a lot o' otha things that sent 'im crawlin' back ta Ma an' me fo' confession." He stopped in the middle of taking another shot. "Ha...come ta think o' it, Kittah was born 'cause o' that so I guess it wasn't _so _bad o' a thing, ya kno'?" Kittah made a face. "But still 'e ain't a bro we wanna be messin' wit!"

"What about Lesley?" Nina piped up. "Do you remember anything more about him?"

Gray shook his head. A tea kettle on the stove began to scream. "You said he healed you with his body?" questioned Shyloh, turning around and whisking it off the heat before Gray had a heart attack.

Pink dusted Nina's cheeks. Her eyes shifted to the end table beside her. "W-well he did something to Ryu and that's how he was healing me."

Steam floated past her porcelain face as the shaman woman poured the hot water into her mug. "What did he look like?"

Nina's color normalized. Her eyes wandered around and settled on Wolfie curled up on the floor at Kittah's feet. "Young guy. Hair was almost the same color as Wolfie's coat." Ryu smiled inwardly at the dog shaman's blatant, yet completely invisible show of terror as everyone's attention went to him. "Alot of piercings like you Shyloh. And he...ah..." her eyes shifted uncomfortably, "was only wearing a...towel?" Kittah's brow furrowed. Wolfie's heart went into overdrive. Ryu glanced to Nina. Yep, she noticed. He was going to have to warn him about that.

"Red hair...around my age?" Shyloh raised the mug to her lips. Nina nodded. "I didn't ever learn his name, but I do believe I know who you are referring to." Everyone leaned forward, even the dog. Ryu scowled. There, things like that! Real dogs didn't care about people things like that! Shyloh's mug went down. "There used to be a shaman village way east of here, almost in Ludian territory. A boy from there had the power to heal with body contact. He was my age with rusty hair not unlike the dog's color, as Nina stated." Again the dog tensed. Gray reached for an apple out of a basket of fruit on the counter and noisily bit into it. "An epidemic swept over his village, unlike anything our healers had ever encountered. A severe fever would kill its victims in a matter of hours and within seconds of death, the body would reanimate into a monster devoid of anything of the person it used to be. Our healers tried everything but they could neither cure the fever nor the beasts born from it. It seemed hopeless, the entire village was dropping like flies and it was getting too dangerous for them to stay any longer."

She took another sip of tea. "Then they found one sick twelve year old boy that was getting _better_. He was even healing the ones around him as well. Our healers flocked to him, all wanting to know how he was managing to survive something that was killing one hundred percent of its infected as well as give life back to others where they from Lhan, could not. They called him a prodigy. They spoke of literally feeling his energy on their skin it was so dense. Wounds healed if you touched him. They brought the sick, the weak to him, he healed them all."

"Even the monsters?" asked Nina, teetering on the edge of her seat.

Shyloh shook her head. "Once at that stage, the person became incurable. It was equally bad they could spread the fever by biting or scratching as well as the outright slaughtering they were doing. They had to all be cut down and the bodies incinerated." Another sip of tea. Minty brows knit, "Funny thing is, that same savior boy was brutally murdered by his own leader right in front of my mother and I." Now Ryu was leaning forward. "Healer shamans can be born anywhere, but are always trained in Lhan. Mother learned of his amazing abilities and had to have him."

"But why kill someone with so much potential to help others?" asked Nina. She reached down and scratched Wolfie behind the ears. He started with a yelp. Nina eyed him curiously. Kittah picked him up and hugged him against her.

Shyloh shrugged. "Sometimes arrogance gets the best of us. She must have figured if she couldn't keep him all to herself, no one could have him, or that's what I thought before today." She 'hmph'ed. "Now I know it was staged and he was sold to the AG. How else would they have been able to build those fancy gates?"

"You said 'used to,' when talking about his village. What happened to it?" asked Ryu.

"Yea I thought Lesley done saved it?" asked Gray, wide eyed.

"That's the ironic part. The disease lied dormant in that selfish leader for a few uneventful years and then came back again with a vengeance, and yet again we had no one who could help. Lesley must've either been uninterested, or unable to make it over there one, because he left his hometown to die. Those fancy gates ended up having to be sealed forever even with unturned people still inside." She shivered. "I'd hate to think of what's left in there."

"So 'e left his village ta its demise, huh? Heh...sounds a lot like a coupla people I kno', eh Kit?" Gray muttered, scratching his head.

Kittah pulled her feet up onto the couch and grasped Wolfie tighter. "I thought we wasn't gonna think o' it like that?"

Nina piped up. "We've met some of these insane AG, it's highly probable it was the latter. Besides...Ryu says he's a friend." Her eyes met Gray's, Kittah's, then landed on Ryu's. "And I don't believe someone's past necessarily dictates their future."

"I'm not so sure I trust either of your judgements just yet, dark dragons," said Shyloh, "Regardless of anything, this man is still an assassin."

"I trust him," said Ryu, mirroring her scowl.

"Based on what, that he healed you? Stop and think for a minute. Maybe he's saving you for another day. Isn't that how all you meathead fighters are, lusting for the next challenge, oblivious to anything going on around you?"

"I said I trust him," Ryu growled, "I needn't inform you my reasons."

"Hey, hey ya both need ta settle down, aight?" Gray placed a hand on Shyloh's shoulder. "I'm tellin' ya Dextah is who we gotta worry 'bout!"

"This dragon let a member of the AG just walk away! Maybe _he's _the one saving him for another day and now we're in danger two times over because of his ego?"

Ryu glared again at the shaman and stood. He flexed a bone blade from his left arm, "New rule," he growled darkly, "Anyone who doesn't trust him, answers to my blade. Understand?"

He felt all of their eyes on his back when he opened the door to the balcony a little too hard and stepped outside, sneering when he heard the woman scoff _"Gray you need to make him swallow that nasty attitude of his! I will not stand to be threatened like this on a daily basis!" _He turned around, shut the door and climbed up some pipes running up the side of the building to the roof. Once there, he fell back onto metal shingles with a frustrated sigh and stared up into the sky.

Words were overrated. His blades expressed his feelings just fine.

_ You think this as though you don't have a way with words at all. I'd say you were wrong._

"I come out here for quiet and you, of course, decide to enlighten me with your opinions," he muttered irritably, ignoring the fact that it was anything but quiet even up there in this busy city.

The soul hesitated. He could feel it mulling. _You said...some really nice ones to me...her...back in the alleyway. Thank you.  
_

Thin wisps of smog floated past. Small, black batlike creatures flit around glowing signs on a taller building beside him catching the bugs they were attracting. "It was nothing."

_It _was_ something to me._

He snorted. "I wouldn't think too much into it."

_How can I not, knowing how much you actually meant them. _

Turning a shade darker, he sat up sharply. "You don't know a damn thing about anything I'm thinking or feeling so shut the hell up and _leave me alone__!_" he growled, slamming his fists into the shingles beside him. They dented on contact. A guy yelled _"W__hat tha hell all dat noise?!"_ from the room below followed by a woman, _"Shut up an go ta sleep! I got work in tha godsdamn mornin'!" _Various dogs barked and howled.

"My for a creature who relies primarily on stealth, you sure aren't being very subtle right now."

Ryu turned to see Lesley behind him, dressed in baggy black pants and a faded green shirt far too big for him. He didn't smell him coming.

"Didn't smell me coming, huh?" Lesley plopped down beside him, smiling widely. "Humans and Wyndians are the only races not able to rely on their noses. That trick is a life saver in a world like ours." He reached into a large pocket on the side of his pants and pulled out two cold bottles of beer. Ryu caught one he tossed to him. "I found these clothes on a line not too far back an' tha beers in a...abandoned...cooler. Theys goin' back, I promise. Not tha beers...tha clothes, haha!"

"For a dog, you're not acting much like one," Ryu retorted, twisting the top off his bottle with a scale covered hand.

"Ehh everyone's goin' to sleep, gimmie a break. They figgur you on watch."

"Won't the cat girl come looking for you?"

Lesley opened his bottle with the upturned side of a shingle, took a big gulp and wiped his mouth on his forearm. "Nah, she's used to me wantin' ta go out at night. I always come back so it don't matter." He eyed the dragon. "Who were ya talkin' to out here anyways?"

"No one."

"Didn't sound like no one."

Lesley shrank back a bit from the glare he received. "Someone that sometimes irritates me, that's all."

The dog shaman laughed nervously. "Oh, I'd of thought it was tha girl's soul an' all, seein' as she talks ta yours too." He shrugged at the change in Ryu's expression. "I dunno, people say things 'round dogs they wouldn't say near nobody else, ya kno'? Her soul talk to ya a lot, huh? What kinda things does it say?"

It was Ryu's turn to take a gulp. "So why didn't you save your village?"

Lesley frowned. "Aw, that's a lil' cold don't you think?"

"Thought you were an assassin."

Lesley sighed. "Fine, 'aight, I pried, I guess ya can pry too." He took another giant gulp. "Shyloh's right about most o' what she said. I did heal my village when I was a kid an' Lhan did want me. She was right bout the leader bein' selfish too; she was gonna make a _lot _of money off a' me." He smirked. "I guess Ironsides scared her more than Suuki Clearwater did. Man, Gray's father really is a force to be reckoned with."

"Shyloh said you healed everyone in your village, not just the ones infected by that disease. You said you had to have it first before you could neutralize it, so how?"

"Ah, I was one o' them weird kids, ya know, one that used his powers fo' good. I went around town catchin' everythin' I could. We all ate the same food, drank the same water, breathed the same air, it wasn't as hard as you'd think."

Ryu finished off his bottle. "You couldn't get back, could you?"

Lesley did as well. "Nope."

"Lose anyone you cared about?"

"Everyone."

A pipe near them spewed out smog. Both of their heads turned as thick black, tangible looking clouds rolled by. "I think you've come to the right place. Most of us have lost a lot, if not everything."

The shaman leaned back on his hands. "I would've lost Kittah too if ya guys hadn't o' come around. Ya really have no idea how grateful I am."

Ryu raised his eyebrows. "How come you didn't heal her back then? Why did you need us?"

Lesley looked away. "I can't heal in canine form, an' she was conscious until right before we found you."

"Close call, why didn't you just-"

"It wasn't the right time, aight?!" Spat the shaman angrily. In the blink of an eye he calmed himself and grinned at the dragon. "Hey...ya know pryin' _is _annoyin', huh? Sorry 'bout that."

_"Wolfie! Woooo~lfie, where are you?"_ Kittah's voice floated up from the balcony far below them.

"Your master's calling you," said Ryu with a smirk.

"I guess she misses me afta all." Lesley returned it and became a bundle of fur and clothes. Ryu helped him out of it. The dog trotted down to the edge of the building.

"Hey, mutt," Ryu called. Wolfie turned back. "When Dexter comes, I'll help. You don't need to ask."

The dog barked amicably and took off down the building's fire escape.

_See? You always know what to say when it counts._

Snorting, Ryu turned again to the sky.

* * *

**A/N:  
**Sorry, been playing Tera...blame my boyfriend! Thanks as always for the love, I'm glad to see people staying with this even though it takes me forever to post sometimes. =3

Also, It may seem like Lesley's accent is inconsistent. It's supposed to be. He's been hanging around Kittah for a long time :) Also I know at least here in the south where I live, you can have a pretty normal sounding accent, and then go completely "country" when you're angry, so it's sorta like that.


	28. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty-seven**

_Ya Trust in 'im That Much, Do Ya?_

"Von Buren, we have a problem."

Ethan dug a tiny pair of ear buds out of his jacket pocket and pushed one into his ear. He pressed a button on his communicator and the sound routed to it. Leathery faces weathered by desert work and sun glanced in his direction, all staring at him through thick black goggles. He put his back to them and leaned over the edge of the sand cruiser he was hitching a ride on. "Go on."

Pheobe's worried expression filled the screen on his wrist. "Wyndia's king has been incapacitated for too long. The people are crying for another of the late queen's blood to take the throne."

Ethan paused to reflect. The queen had two brothers. It was important which one was attempting to step up.

"It's the one we don't want that's showing interest," answered Phoebe before he could ask.

Just as he expected. Julian Wynlan was young -barely thirty- and from the southern mountainous Wyndia regions where they mostly kept to themselves and stood stubbornly strong against any outside influences. Nina's grandparents moved there around the time Julian was born and died soon after, leaving him to be molded into whatever those backwards people fancied. Ethan bit the inside of his cheek. Nina's other uncle Percy, while much older and wiser, had the initiative of an overweight house cat lounging in the sun. He lived in the city, knew everything that was going on, but not once had his voice been heard.

Julian was far from soft spoken. Nina's engagement to the prince of Ludia had infuriated him. Letters from him flew in by the dozen. Why on Elanaar would his country marry off its purest blood to a _human_? Isabella wasn't fit for the throne and now with the Queen unable to produce any more heirs, _what _were they thinking? He proposed _he _marry Nina, but due to the obvious, that idea was promptly abandoned.

"He's already announced his wishes to purge the city of everyone but pure bloods." She looked back at what he assumed was Isabella sleeping. "For certain he'll execute her. Imagine the sort of favor gain for that."

Of course. It was perfect.

"She's a sweetheart. It really would be a shame if that happened."

Ethan watched the sand rippling around the cruiser shimmer in the light of the moon. He had sworn to follow the decrees of the royal Wynlan family in front of the _Goddess_, which meant he wasn't allowed to be having the thoughts he was now having.

Nina was one thing, she'd killed, she'd destroyed. Regardless of what made her do it, it still was _her_ doing it right before his eyes. Isabella had done nothing but be born with a blemish.

"I suppose it might be troubling if I took her on a vacation, huh?"

Phoebe always had a soft spot for kids. "Anyone seen you?"

"Are you really asking that? Of course not."

"I'm not involved."

Pheobe smiled. "Yea. Just tell me when you get to the city and I'll find a way there."

He turned off the communicator and leaned back in his seat. Stars were bright in the night's clear sky. One of the old men in front of him started hacking up a lung. "Hey, hey don't die ovah there we almost ta Synesta! Be there in tha mornin' I promise! Jus a few mo' hours!" called the driver.

Desert winds had sands _plink,_ _tink, tink-_ing against Ethan's goggles. He pulled the large scarf around his neck up over his mouth, covering a now broadening smile. He would stay there a few days. Isabella didn't deserve to be killed, but he didn't think she was above being used to lure her sister.

She was going to be angry. _Real _angry.

* * *

"Come at me again! Harder this time, girlies!" Gray bellowed from deep inside his weretiger chest, clenching his giant fists and taking a defensive stance with them in front of him. Kittah -fused with Shyloh- concentrated on a large rock on the ground near them. Nina, Ryu and Wolfie watched from a distance near their tents, the Wyndian setting up their campfire while Ryu and the dog were shooing away boot sized scorpions snapping and hissing at her flames.

The mint tinted cat girl clenched her teeth and with muscles visibly straining in the moonlight, guided the rock into the air. Gray braced himself. Kittah jumped up and a powerful kick to it sent Gray feet deep into a sand dune when he caught it. He busted out, laughter busting out of him and tossed the rock to the side. "Damn Shy, ya make my sis one hell o' a fighta!"

Kittah's paws went into her hair. "Augh, I ken kick all day long, but I ain't gonna get nowhere not learnin' how ta send that rock at ya wit jus' this geomancin' mumbo jumbo, it be damn near impossible, I tell ya!" she cried, stomping around, "It be like Shyloh talkin' anotha language, I jus' dun get it!"

"Ya held up that rock jus' fine!"

"Barely! Ain't nobody gonna stand there like ya was doin' an' wait fo' me ta git a perfect angle like that! Whaddya thinkin', Cal?!"

"C'mon Kittah, we got time, practice make tha warrior!"

"Fo' get it fo' ta'night!" Kittah cried, throwing her arms into the air, "Fusin' time's almost up an' I be tired o' 'er yellin' at me too!" She stopped and cocked her head, blue eyes becoming unfocused. "Yea ya _is _yellin'. Ya's yellin' right tha hell now!" She paused. "Wat ya mean 'this is not yelling'' _yea it be!_" The woren resumed her tantrum, "I mean it, git outta me Shy right now I ain't listenin' ta ya no mo'!"

Wolfie tugged hard on Ryu's pant leg after he sliced through a particularly persistent scorpion. The dragon looked down. Wolfie growled and barked at him. Ryu rolled his eyes. "_Nina,_" he hissed through their now healthy campfire, motioning for her to come near. She put down the pot and the canteen she was holding and made her way over to him, kneeling beside his crouched form with a curious look.

"...Yes?" she asked cautiously.

"Go and help Gray's sister. She needs it."

Nina blinked. "Huh? Wha...how? Last time I checked, I wasn't a shaman."

The dragon shrugged. "Magic's magic, right?"

"They aren't using the same kind I use!"

"It's all the same principles."

Nina raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly would _you_ know about magic huh, Ryu?" Stone faced, Ryu lit his entire hand on fire and waved it in the air. Nina grabbed onto it with a scale covered one, smothering the flames. "We create then manipulate, she is only manipulating. Diff-er-ence. I cannot manipulate what I have not created. Merybel would be a better teacher than I, and oh my goddess Ryu I know we can't ask her so you can stop shaking your head like that!"

"I've been told it's really not all that different. You'll be fine," he said. Firelight illuminated frustrated yellow eyes peeking through his bangs.

"If it wasn't, then wouldn't every damn Wyndian be a shaman?!" Nina argued.

The dragon shrugged impatiently. "I don't know, Nina, maybe anyone with magic in their blood can, they just aren't thinking along the same lines? It really doesn't sound all that far fetched if you ask me."

Nina glared for a moment then turned away pursing her lips. "Look, if you don't want me hanging around, then be man enough to say it," muttered the girl icily.

"If you don't want to continue holding my hand like this, then you might want to let it go," he retorted, just as snide.

Turning redder than her hair used to be, the Wyndian dropped her grip and without a word left towards Kittah and the others. He let her go with as much conversation. It was better this way.

Ryu plopped down against the backside of a large dune behind the campfire after making sure the coast was clear. "It worked...inadvertently," mumbled the dragon to a bumpy mound beside him. Some of the bumps formed a smiling face; Lesley's face, "but it almost didn't."

"Yea, she knows she's right that's why."

Ryu's head snapped to him. "You lied to me!"

"Ya'll always competin' wit one anotha, tryin' ya'lls hardest ta be tha one who 'wins'." Lesley's head popped fully out of the sand, turned to smile in Ryu's disgruntled direction. "Nina'll try her hardest ta prove ya wrong, bro. That's tha kinda gal she is." That was the truth. Ryu simmered in silence. "You _were_ right in a sense, tho', there _are _similar principles innit. Ya gotta learn how ta stop an listen to tha earth. Nina's doin' tha same thing, jus' it ain't the earth she listenin' ta, it's the flow of magic." Sand dripped from his shaggy copper mop. He shook his head to clear it, looking like a dog even in his human form. He pawed at his ears. "Kittah ain't spiritual-like at all; it gonna be hard to teach her to focus, but I would think she'd listen to Nina mo' than that Shyloh, ya kno'? It's a wonder she can do any geomancin' at all bein' it ain't that shaman's forte."

Ryu sniffed and shoved the shaman's face back into the dune. Gray rounded the corner in his normal form, large, gray, bushy brow knitted. "Talkin' ta yaself there, Ryu?"

The dragon smiled. "Nina's soul sometimes doesn't understand when to quiet down."

Gray sat down beside him on folded legs, sighing, "Ain't that all women? I had ta git away from them broads back there, I cain't take no mo' that high pitched complainin', I swear ta tha Tigress." Suddenly he arched his back. "Wh-what-!" Wolfie wriggled out of the sand and out from behind him. "Wolfie what tha hell were ya doin' in there?" the big cat cried, picking the dog up and shaking the sand from him. "Kittah's gonna have a fit if'n ya try ta come ta bed wit all this mess on ya!"

Ryu, amused by Lesley's legs scrabbling at the air and the whines he was making, almost missed movement in the distance just beyond the dog's furry chest. "Something's out there," he said to Gray, crouching.

Wolfie was immediately put down. "Whatcha think it be? Someone watchin'?"

"Don't know, I only saw a glimpse." Shadows consumed the dragon's body until all Gray could see in his stead was sand.

"Which way?"

"One o'clock," Ryu's voice was already traveling away. Gray followed with caution, Wolfie padding quietly at his heels.

* * *

"Oh so you'll listen to the Angel of Death, but you won't listen to someone you've known for years, I see," Shyloh huffed, crossing her arms at Kittah.

"_She _ain't yellin' at me Shy, an' dun ya dare tell me that ain't what ya been doin'!"

"But it's not!"

"Ya voice is raised right now!"

"Stop! Please!" Nina cried, throwing her arms up between the two. "Shyloh go make some tea...or something...whatever you need to do to calm everyone down!"

Shyloh's beautiful face scrunched snottily. "Don't give me orders. You're just as much a monster as that blue haired fool," she spat, but turned towards the fire anyways, grabbing a bag of her tea kettle and bag of tea leaves along the way. "I'm making it right now because I'm thirsty, alright?!"

Kittah dropped to her knees with a sigh. Nina walked over to her, keeping an eye out for scorpions near Shyloh. "It ain't like I dun kno' I gotta concentrate ta do this stuff," said the cat when the Wyndian was close, "But it ain't jus' me, it be Shy too!"

"What do you mean?" asked Nina, bending down.

"When a shaman fuses' wit ya, ya feel theys emotions. If theys all conflicted 'bout somethin' or 'notha, it conflicts me all ta hell as well!"

Nina wondered if Ryu's soul felt-

_I do._

Her heart dropped to her stomach. Did he feel that?

_Yes._

"She still be in love wit me brotha an' she hates 'erself fo' it, blah blah blah but..._agh,_ she gotta realize 'er husband be dead an' Caleb been lovin' 'er fo' a long time an' she ain't gonna find no one bettah!" Kittah glanced back at Shyloh stirring Nina's pot of water, seemingly oblivious to them. She was probably just being a brat.

"You can't tell other people how to feel."

"But she all stressed 'bout nothin'! I'm gonna be wit whoeva I want when tha time comes, I ain't gonna let nothin' like race hold me back from bein' happy! Why cain't she see that it dun mattah none!"

"Now you're stressing out over something _you _have no control over."

So he could feel them. All the feelings she felt about everyone, everything.

About him.

Kittah's blue orbs gravitated to Nina's preoccupied ones. "Do ya feel Ryu like that?"

Nina's cheeks darkened. "Ah...no..."

"Sho' would be awkward, huh?"

"Yeah..."

"_Eeek! Get these things away from me!_"

Nina and Kittah jumped up (Nina with a bit of a smirk) and ran to the shaman princess' aid.

* * *

"Shiny, shiny, shiny, where shiny, where shiny?" _skitter skitter _ "I saw it I did see it I swear I did!" _skitter skitter_ "Shiny, shiny, shinnnny—oof!"

Gray reached down and picked up the struggling bundle of cloth that had just run into the front of his boot. It kicked and flailed tiny gloved hands and booted feet. The big cat helped it right itself. The little creature sitting in the palm of his hand pulled its cape from the top of its head. "Oi, Ryu? Come on out, whatcha make o' this?" called the cat into the darkness.

Ryu appeared in front of him, looking down at his angry prisoner. "It's a nut," he said simply after quick observation. "A nut mage by the looks of it. You take its weapon? Good, she can't cast anything without it."

"Y-yea I made sure o' that... A—ah, I was gonna say I kno' wat she be, wat I wanna kno' is why she all tha way out here! These things dun travel much outside o' forests."

The nut mage chattered angrily at Gray, turning wide, empty sockets at him. "Gimme back hat! Gimme back staff! Gimme all the shinys you got! I need shinys! I need hat! Gimme back hat NOW!" He closed his fist around her arms. She glared at him, her acorn top looking like a hat in itself.

"What shinys ya talkin' 'bout? It be hard ta find even a zenny that can catch a bit o' light. An' I didn't take ya hat! I ain't got use fo' a hat that small?!"

She struggled to pulled her arms free in vain. "Master wants all the shinys! Master trades shinys for even MORE shinys! Gimme shinys! Gimme hat! GIMME HAT NOW!"

"Geez Ryu, can ya look fo' her hat?" Gray winced, sticking a finger into his ear.

Wolfie barked and scampered up to them with something in his mouth. Ryu took it from him and held it in front of the mage. "Might this be-"

"YOU STOLE HAT I SEE YOU STOLE HAT RIGHT THERE! GIMME BACK HAT GIMME BACK STAFF! GIMME BACK HAT! NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW-OW!"

Ryu put the hat on her and pulled it down over her eyes. "Who is your master?"

"YOU NO TOUCH HAT NO MORE! GIMME BACK STAFF! I NO TELL YOU NOTHING! YOU GIMME STAFF!"

"Fo' tha' last time, we ain't steal nothin' o' yours-"

"I'll give you back your staff if you tell me where your master is," said Ryu to the nut, "-a-and you must talk quietly from now on," he added quickly.

The nut mage's thoughts stewed. Wolfie stood on his hind legs, trying to get a peek at it. "You have staff?" it asked after a moment, turning its sockets to Ryu. Deep inside of them, a tiny glow pulsed.

"Yes, and many shinys."

"Master is down that ways," the mage turned south. "Has cart full of shinys but he no let me touch them."

"I have a few shinys you can_ have_, but you must lead me there."

"Then you give staff, YOU GIVE—ahem, you give staff, you promise!"

"I'm not promising anything until we meet your master."

The nut hesitated. "Why ya wanna meet its masta?" asked Gray.

"Are these things being controlled? I can't help but think-"

"Master no use no magic on me. Me like shiny. Master has shiny. That all!" The nut chirped at Ryu.

The dragon stared at it. This was the longest he had ever been in contact with one of these creatures and his previous notions of them being incapable of any intelligent thought were slowly being eradicated. "Alright, let's go...ah...do you have a name?"

"Clan call me Ztt'rttzetsszttttectzzzt'tzaaz. Master call me 'Arson' cause he say I like fire too much. Fire pretty and shiny! What you think?"

Ryu and Gray's brows furrowed. "Yes...it is. Alright...Arson...lead the way?"

"Let down! No can do nothing like this!"

"Let her down," said Ryu to Gray.

"Ya trust 'er?"

"Yeah. After all, we have her staff."

Gray put the mage down on the sand, eying Ryu. "If'n ya say so..."

"Master Shiny's cart this way." Arson skittered through the sand, her dark pointy hat and robe quickly becoming a tiny blotch in the distance. Ryu and Gray both resorted to fours. Wolfie bounded along beside them.

Suddenly Arson stopped at the top of a sand dune. Ryu stealthed beside her. "Down," she said, pointing a tiny finger out of her robe at a campsite below. There was a cart, a tent, and a fire and the cart was indeed as shiny as she had described. Mirrors donned almost every inch of it, along with strings of crystals hanging from the roof, glittering beautifully in the firelight.

Nut people peeped out from behind them. A group stacked from the ground to the top of the cart carrying anything from balls of tin foil to some of the most expensive looking jewelry Ryu had ever seen. "We give shiny, he give shinier," Arson explained.

Mirrors. Whoever this was paid these guys with the one thing that would shine brightest wherever there was light. So what if they sometimes brought him pieces of really clean glass, or aluminum cans with the labels peeled off of them, Ryu just watched one of them pass a necklace up the chain containing a stone bigger than his fist!

"Wow Ryu, this guy be scamm-"

"I'll be right back, I'm going to have a talk with him."

"Wait, by yo'self?!" Ryu faded away and Gray felt a familiar gust of wind rush by. "Yea, 'aight I'll jus' wait here while ya have all tha fun," he grumbled. Wolfie whined in agreement beside him.

The tent was lit. Ryu slipped in easily.

There was a man sitting at a desk scribbling madly at a parchment so long, its tail end crumpled into a pile on the floor. There was a pallet on the other side, unmade. It felt soft against Ryu's feet. "You think you're so slick but you're not, I can feel you and I know you're getting sand all over my nicely laid out bed, I do. Ooo you think you're soooo smart."

Ryu froze. The man was elderly and he sensed nothing out of the ordinary. He smelled human. White hair stuck out from his ears and scalp like it was fighting to get away from him. He turned and his eyebrows were the same. A mustache looking almost like a sideways lightning bolt streaked across his upper lip.

"Come out, boy. Lemme see ya before you stab me in the back ya bandit scumbag."

Ryu unstealthed with his hands out in front of him. "I mean you no harm," he said, adding with a cock of his head, "If you mean _me _no harm."

The old man stared at him. "Dragon."

Ryu blinked. "Ah..."

"Why here?"

"We're not worrying about me right now," Ryu cleared his throat, trying to look unfazed, "I came here to talk about you. What are you doing out here controlling things like...Arson? I see what kind of scam you're running."

Suddenly an almost toothless smile broke across the old man's face. "Scam? Son, a merchants gotta do what a merchants gotta do, you know? These guys be the best scavengers I tell ya what. Ain't nobody gonna treat em' better neitha. They's know what they's gettin' they's not stupid at all. Theys do it because they's _like _mirrors." He laughed a long, wheezing laugh. "Ya said 'Arson' before. Ya really got her to tell you her name? Strange one ya be. No one talks to those things. No one cares enough to but me."

"She seemed capable of much more than I discovered."

Arson's Master turned back and rolled up the parchment he was writing on. "Strange indeed...," he muttered, still smiling.

"Merchant, huh? What do you sell?"

"Dragons carry money?"

"I've enough to keep your mouth closed, I hope."

"I ain't looking to snitch on anyone or nothin'. I don't take sides. Ya's a clean slate in my eyes. Jus' as pretty as ya coin."

"You didn't answer. What do you sell?"

"Potions, amulets, magic gems. Stuff that'll make it so nothin' like sleepin' powder'll knock ya out fo' a lil' bit. Bandits love usin' that stuff on people, 'specially girls. Ya got any girls with ya? Nevermind, dragons with girlies? Pssh. Anyways, if the price is right, ya can buy one of the nuts. Very very useful. Most useful thing I sell besides the one amulet that disguises ya into some random things. Not too many charges left on it. Last wearer used a lot o' it in the fight he died in. Gots some blood on it too!"

Candlelight flickered around the tent. Ryu's shadow danced in the corner. "What do the nuts do?"

"You think you have that much?"

"You're going to think I'm _really _pretty when I show you my wallet," Ryu smirked. He hoped. He had only grabbed a handful of bills earlier from Gray.

The old man's eyes glittered. "Item runner. Make a grocery list, send em' off with some z. Newspaper boy. Can't be without the news. Things is...well things been lookin' bad lately. I'm sure you know." Ryu made a face. The old man continued, "Message boy, really you saw how smart they are. Be creative ya know?"

"How much?"

"I'll give Arson to ya for a discount."

"Why a discount?"

"Why do ya think?"

Ryu's brow furrowed. "I don't want to wake up one day to everything I own in cinders."

"I'm just saying she's a discount I'm not saying you have to buy her. Use her purely as a messenger, keep her out of your hair. If she happens to be in camp have her take care of your fire. She ain't gonna spread what's already made, she knows not to do that much."

"How much?"

"How much ya got?"

Ryu thumbed through his wallet. "Hundred thousand on me."

"Five hundred thousand."

"I thought you said she was a discount!"

"I got a tax when dealin' wit dragons."

"You also said you didn't take sides," Ryu growled.

"Hundred thousand ain't nothin' but change, an'...well...you ain't really an army now, are ya son?" Snickered the old man. His withered, almost claw like hand started to glow. Oh, so it was like that.

Ryu closed his wallet and tucked it into his back pocket. "For most people, it's hard to tell the difference." Bones peeked through the skin on his forearms. He'd have to be quiet, if all of the nut clan decided to attack him at once...

"I ain't most people."

The dragon smiled. "Good, because I have a big problem with your 'tax'."

* * *

"Oh it's so _cute_!" Nina wanted to cry when Ryu and Gray showed up at camp with this Arson thing she thought was adorable but couldn't help thinking all the same it was a bomb and they were all idiots for crowding around so close. Kittah, Gray and Shyloh marveled at it swinging around a tiny wooden staff spewing out miniature fire spells dangerously near their tents.

Ryu slipped through them and grabbed her arm as he walked past. "Come."

"What?" asked Nina nervously when they were out of range of the others. She pulled her jacket tight around her against chilly night time desert winds. The stars were globs of glitter against black paper.

Ryu stood in front of her, held his eyes firmly on hers. "I met a guy out in the desert. A merchant. I thought he was a normal human but then he used magic."

Nina blinked. "Who? Where?"

"I bought Arson from him."

"What _is _Arson anyways?"

"We need her to bring us the news. It is imperative we know everything 'they' know."

So a little messenger, alright. "What about this merchant?"

Ryu started to pace. "He called me a dragon. He knew I was behind him in stealth. How? He smelled like a human but so did-" he glanced at Wolfie who was suddenly at his heels and dropped it. "We need to leave first thing in the morning."

"Maybe he's just well-read, Ryu. And while it's odd to find humans with magical talent, it's not unheard of." The knowing he was in stealth thing, however, that _was_ a little troubling. Ryu's aura had dark magic properties, so it made sense someone attuned with magic would sense it, but to feel it while the Kaiser was dormant...

"Your soul didn't detect any deceiving magic on him like the little girl's, only the regular kind when he decided to attack me, yet I can't shake a feeling."

"Attacked? You don't think he was Dexter, do you?"

"He yielded early, I made it so even Gray who was right outside the tent we fought in and didn't notice a thing, but-" Wolfie whined and pawed at Ryu. The dragon studied the canine for a moment, looking almost like he was having a telepathic conversation with it. Or maybe her soul was chiming in on the situation. "No...he wasn't Dexter. Maybe there are other members of the AG that-" Woflie yawned loudly and rolled over onto his back on the sand, sticking all of his legs into the air lazily. Ryu rolled his eyes. "Alright, maybe I'm being paranoid, but I stand firm we need to stay a few days on the move, just in case."

Nina groaned, "Hard traveling, _again?_" Another few days of her trying to get a good night's sleep propped up back to back with the dragon and when it was his turn to drive she would be stuck trying to nestle in with what little room their cargo ever made. "Shyloh's going to have a fit."

Ryu's face hardened. "Let her. That woman's comfort is the least of my concerns." He rummaged in the pockets of his coat and pulled out a small bottle filled with a purpl-ish liquid. "Oh yeah, and this. If you find yourself alone out here for any reason, I want you to take a swig of this. It negates any narcotic the bandits out here might try to administer to you."

She caught it and tucked it into an inside pocket in her jacket. "How many swigs do I have?"

"How many times are you planning to go off alone?"

"Whatchya'll talkin' 'bout ova here?" asked Kittah, walking up to them. "Ya'lls language can sound pretty dang serious sometimes."

"We leave at daybreak," he ordered sharply in common, looking from the cat to the bird, "No exceptions."

Kittah and Nina watched him bound back to camp and disappear into his tent. "Geez, what be_ his_ deal?"

Nina started to follow his footsteps back into camp, glancing over her shoulder. "He may be rude, but I've learned when he's serious about something, we damn well better listen."

"Ya trust in 'im that much, do ya?" asked Kittah with a small smile, leaning down and picking up Wolfie.

"He's the only one I do," answered the Wyndian and Kittah was left in the dark with Wolfie whining in her arms, looking like she thought the Frostlands were warmer than her comrade's words.

Nina's jaw squared as she brought her gaze forward. This was how it had to be.

* * *

It was a bright, clear day. Hot, but with a nice breeze.

She would always remember that.

Nina's eyelids slowly lifted. Behind her, Ryu was still asleep, she could feel her body being moved by his rhythmic breathing. He was shirtless and hunched over as usual. Ever since that time he had leaned his head back and woke up drooling on her shoulder. That didn't go well.

Everyone was still asleep. Even Gray, the driver for that day. All she could hear was the wind brushing up against the canopy over the cruiser bed. This one was a much nicer model than then one they'd totaled, albeit a little on the small side. Had Ryu been awake he would have been furious there was no one guarding, but after a quick once around, Nina concluded there were no problems. She sat up from the dragon and stretched. A folded up blanket fell from between them. His back was so muscular she had to have some sort of cushion. She tried to rub a sore spot between her shoulders. It wasn't enough.

Her feet hit the sand and no one woke up. She walked away a little bit to stretch her legs. By the look of the sun, it was early. She didn't bother to put on goggles or protective clothing, she wasn't going far...

Something tugged at her boot strings. She looked down to see Arson holding up the day's newspaper. "Morning paper. You read. I make fire." the nut mage handed her it and started to waddle off, taking its staff off of her back.

"No, no, Arson no fire right now, wait until everyone wakes up at least, okay?" Nina eased, plucking the little wooden cane out of her tiny hands and placing it back in its place behind her.

The nut made a face at her. Or at least she thought it did. It was really odd how something with only one expression could make so many. "When other person wake up. Fine, but no fire make me sad." She plopped down on the ground with her arms crossed.

Nina rolled open the paper. "Yes, then you can make all the fire you want...," her voice trailed off.

Over the past few days, the papers had been relatively predictable. Pictures of her with astronomical numbers slapped across them. Artist renditions of Ryu all depicting demon-like smiles. Stories of people that may have, could have, probably had run into them. That they were monsters, wiping towns off the map witnesses didn't remember the names of in the first place.

Nothing like today's.

Wyndia's government was in shambles. The people were calling for new blood (or rather old) and they were getting it. A picture of an uncle she had never met, Julian Wynlan, looking stern and determined standing on her father's balcony saluting to the sky spanned over half the front page. Honey hair fell over his broad shoulders and majestic wings in thick, large, angelic curls. A "pure" Wyndian, he said, that must purge his homeland of everything but the purest of his blood, and no more shall they live under the shadow of the Angel of Death, for he will rid them of the monster that still resides inside of their castle.

He was going to execute Isabella.

The entire world screeched to a halt. Numbly, Nina dropped the paper to the ground and walked out into the desert.

* * *

Ryu was awakened by Gray shaking him hard. "Bro, we cain't find 'er nowhere, we's ain't got a clue!" The dragon murmured something incomprehensible, fought to open heavy eyelids. Why was it so hard? "Bro!"

_My...her distance is weakening you._

Ryu grit his teeth and threw his head back. His spine cracked loudly. "She ain't ova this way neitha, Caleb!" Kittah frantically called. Shyloh stood near with her nose in the air and her arms crossed.

"Huh...?"

"Tha news, bro! Lookit!" Gray shoved the paper into Ryu's face. "They's gonna kill 'er sistah!" The dragon took one glance and forced himself up on wobbling knees.

_To the right! That way!_

"Imgoin," he slurred, stumbling backwards onto cargo. Gray pulled him back up.

"Bro, ya ain't 'aight!"

Ryu shook his head and widened his eyes almost comically wide. "You don't unnerstand, its fine, I just have to get closer to 'er."

"Lemme help-"

"I don't need it!" Ryu growled, throwing the cat's paws off of him and letting himself fall onto all fours. "And don't follow!" he warned, clumsily jumping/falling out of the cruiser and dragging himself onto the sand. "None of you! I'll be fine! I promise!" Gray went to help him again regardless, but a glare and an increase in the dragon's speed kept him back. Damn that woren, he'd just be in the way if the Kaiser decided to pay them a visit, why didn't he see that? By the time Ryu had lost sight of the cruiser, he was at a full sprint. Glittering sand whizzed by, he could feel her getting closer, closer...

Sands bunched around his feet as he stopped dead in his tracks.

Her voice found him before he did her, and Ryu could do nothing but stand as motionless as he wished time would for fear any movement he made would take away from him listening to the most beautiful thing to ever have graced his ears. Sunlight blazed against his unprotected back and scalp, sweat poured down him in rivers, still it wasn't enough to drive him to move the few inches it would take to reach the shade a cactus to the right of him provided.

Her mournful song poured into him, made him remember feelings he didn't ever want to again. Still he could not stop listening.

He remembered coming out of the woods near the orphanage he and Ana were residing in so long ago after they had fled from hell, and seeing her standing with the little boy with the sandy hair that always stood up in the back no matter what they used to try and tame it. He had fallen and was crying. She was stooping down.

She never saw it coming.

The song continued, stronger, prouder.

One blow. The sandy haired boy took most of the blood spray, then unfortunately Ryu's blade as the dragon swung wildly, madly at that bitch. The murdering princess had laughed as she grabbed child after child after child. Ryu sliced through them all, seeing nothing but red.

Nina's voice dropped off. His trance faded.

_Ryu..._

Tears teetered on the ends of his lashes. He wiped them away with a burning forearm and walked to the top of a dune for a better view.

Nina stood tall on the peak of the one in front of him, saluting into the distance. He slid down his and made his way to her. "Did she ever sing?" she asked when he joined her.

He studied her tear drenched, sunburned face as she lowered her salute. She was definitely shaken, but not broken. Not yet. "Never."

"Good. I was afraid she had. You know we all have voices like that, Wyndian royal princesses. Supposed to be one of the great wonders of this world. Can you believe that? Funny how none of us have ever been ones to sing casually, at least I've never read that one ever was and I know of myself so-"

"I saw the paper, Nina."

She paused. One of the toes of her boots dug into the ground. "I figured, with you running up here so suddenly and all." It stopped. Her brow furrowed. "If you think I'm planning to do something stupid, I'm not. I hope you know that."

"I never said I thought you were."

Amber tore away from him, scanned the skyline above dangerous sands. In the far distance they could both see a dust storm's deadly dance across it. "No one will be at her funeral singing the proper song for her soul's passage," she said somberly, "They're going to bury that child a traitor. Traitors don't get respect. She'll be lucky if they only spit on her coffin."

Ryu sat down on folded legs. "I never got to bury my sister. By the time I was sane there wasn't enough left of her to pay my respects to."

Nina sniffed, raised a barely trembling hand to her lips. She was trying so hard to keep herself together. He found it actually saddened him how well she was doing. "Why is this world so cruel?" she asked in a small voice, then shook her head. "I-I'm sorry...I...this is not the time to be thinking weak thoughts, is it?"

"I've asked myself that many times. Tell me, do you find me weak?"

"...Hardly." Her chin crinkled. She bit the inside of her cheek and then suddenly the fear left her eyes, the tension drained from her features. "You said if she died, we'd kill the ones responsible, remember?" she asked with a chill.

He nodded. "I did. I promised."

Nina looked down to him and didn't hesitate to say, "Ryu, I don't know how to take the fact that I know, right now one hundred percent, I would have no remorse for killing my father for letting this happen and that Julian fellow, my uncle I suppose, for executing it."

She knew there was nothing they could do about it. The papers said her sister was to be executed at dawn's light. As it was, they only had enough fuel in their cruiser to get to the oasis a few hundred miles away. Wyndia was clear across the map now.

She was accepting her sister's fate like a warrior. He let her know it.

Her lips twitched with the ghost of a smile. "I'd like to see if you still think that come morning. I might be a wreck."

Mercifully, a lone cloud in the sky covered their blazing adversary. Ryu pulled back bangs sticking to his forehead. The breeze finally felt like it was cooling him down. "I'll be there to make sure you aren't."

The cloud's shadow darkened the land ominously. Without its sparkle, the sands were dull, lifeless. "I...I don't think you should worry so," she said, reading his thoughts, "It's not like I wasn't ever prepared for something like this to happen. It angers me all the same, but throwing a tantrum about it won't solve anything, just wastes energy I could be directing to, say, fighting with you. Something that's taken a back seat since we've entered this place. Last I remembered, we had a few psychopaths on our tails that were a bit better than us at combat."

He laughed and winced. His skin was on fire. "I'll fight you all you want after a rest, you do realize how long we've been cooking out here? My blood's going to turn into sludge if I don't get anything to drink soon and yours should be the same." Her hand appeared next to him, he grabbed it to get up. He really was a little dizzy.

"Come on, let's get back to the cruiser," she said, giving him a shoulder when he stumbled. "It's your fault, you know. I didn't ask you to come out here."

"Here I am trying to be nice to a friend and this is all I get."

There was finally some light in the smile that met his as she helped him hobble along. "So I see we're still friends."

"When were we ever not?"

She nudged him playfully. "For not ever having any, you aren't too bad at this thing."

With a smirk, the dragon snaked his arm behind her and mussed her sweaty mop. She did the same to him. It lasted about three seconds before they both pulled their hands back and gave each other disgusted faces. Ryu's must've been a good one because it actually made her snort. He burst into laughter at it and the embarrassed expression she made afterwards.

Yeah. Maybe he _was_ getting used to this whole "humanity" thing.

* * *

**A/N: Yeaaahhhhh...I hope to not take that long again between updates. Thank you for all your continued support! **

**Also, the nut mages are usually wearing only hooded cloaks, but wouldn't they be cute with little black mage hats? Jus sayin' :)**


	29. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-eight**

_Why Do You Want To Be Friends Anyway?_

Her new shell and her beloved guard dog were getting closer. She could sense them _so _well now that they were nearing the middle of Shyde.

Doctors swarmed around her tinkering with her metal prison, their faces looking distorted though the lines of rising bubbles. Still vivid emerald eyes closed.

Just a little longer...

* * *

"Ya do realize ya was harassin' Ol' Gisshan back there."

Ryu stood with his hands in his pockets, glancing back into camp. "Who? You need to hurry up and do your 'business', it's looking strange you always tagging alongside me more than with your girlfriend."

"She ain't my girlfriend!" Lesley hissed, spitting out sand from his hiding spot. "An' I'm almost done 'aight? Lemme speak what I gotta speak!"

"Then speak!"

"He ain't a threat, ok? He's nothin' but a merchant. Been 'round longer than I can remember. Day I joined the AG they told me if I ever lost somethin' I ever cared 'bout out here to always go lookin' for him. His little minions always been combin' these wastelands."

Ryu's scowl didn't fade. "He knew I was there in stealth."

Lesley grinned. "There's reason to believe that guy ain't a human that's for damn sure. He's old, but he ain't aged a day more than the last time I saw him almost ten years ago an' even then he don't move like an elder. Ain't fast but he ain't slow neitha."

He was right. "He still smelled human."

"An' me a dog."

Ryu growled like one. "I don't like it."

"Deal with it, it ain't yo gig no more. I dunno what clock you been lookin' at but five hunnard years is some time, bro, otha people besides dragons are intelligent. Ya didn't think we'd adapt?"

Ryu wanted to say that wasn't what he meant, but it really was wasn't it?

All of his life he had been one step below the top of the food chain. _Armies _of men would succumb to the mere presence of the Destroyer. Those who didn't, did eventually whether above the ground or under.

"'ey I ain't done speakin'!" Ryu's eyes went to him. "Ya need ta make Nina talk ta Kittah."

He sighed. "Not this game again."

"It ain't a game! She needs a friend!"

Ryu shook his head. "I can't make Nina do anything she doesn't want to do."

"Why can't she trust Kittah, huh? Why she gotta say somethin' like that to her?"

"Disassociation. You heard her story. A lot of people she's trusted have turned on her."

"Kittah ain't like that at all an' you kno' it."

"Again, I can't tell her what to do." He found himself smirking slightly at the fact that he didn't scare her anymore in the least bit. "It's something she's going to have to get over herself."

"Jus' tell her to be nice, that's all I ask," pleaded the shaman.

The dragon jerked his head back toward camp. "We'll see. Come, it's getting dark." Lesley changed into Wolfie and bounded around him a few times in an attempt to get the sand off before trotting in behind him.

Arson greeted them with a little fireball that lit the bottom of Ryu's jacket on fire. He put it out in scale covered hands. "Arson, what are you burning? I thought we said no fire other than campfire." asked Ryu after taking a deep, composing breath.

Tiny dots of light stared up at him. "Master you no scold me. I do what blonde girl say."

They were to start traveling at dawn tomorrow so everyone had gone to bed early. Nina had insisted on this. The faster she got to a place with air conditioning, a hot shower, and a soft bed, the better she'd feel about everything, she said. He knew she'd realized she'd go crazy sitting here doing nothing.

"And that was to burn...?"

Arson put her staff on her back and sat down in front of the fire. "She no like morning paper. I ask if she want any more. She say no and to go make this one shiny so I did. I make pretty, right? You like?" she asked, looking back at him.

Ryu knelt down. Gray's tent was the only one lit, he could clearly see both he and Shyloh's shadows quietly arguing. They did that a lot. Sometimes Shyloh didn't go back to her tent. "Arson, I need to you to continue to get the paper for us."

"But blonde girl say-"

Ryu took out a small piece of glass he'd found in the sands. He held it up to the fire and tilted it back and forth. "Look what I haave."

Arson looked up. "That not half as shiny as stuff other master give."

He frowned. "_I_ am your only master."

Arson pulled a tiny makeup compact out from underneath her hat and opened it up to show him the mirror it had inside. "You not know what shiny is so she better."

Ryu made a face and tossed the glass behind him. "Tell me if you see anyone," he grumbled, standing. "I need to talk to blonde girl."

"I maybe come tell, I maybe not."

The dragon sighed, making his way to Nina's tent. "Nina, can you please stop manipulating the nut..."

He didn't have to open her tent to know what was going on inside. She was crying pretty hard, his sinuses were already starting to react. He turned and walked to Gray's tent, pulling open the front without warning. Gray and Shyloh stared at him in mid liplock. The dragon turned his head sharply. At least they were clothed. "I need one of you to guard. Kittah was last night. Something's come up." Red faced, Shyloh pushed her way past Ryu and quickly went into her tent.

Gray sighed with a shrug, "I guess it be me." Ryu didn't stay to hear any more response.

* * *

Nina couldn't stop crying.

The warrior Ryu wanted her to be was crumbling.

Seeing the paper again in Arson's little hand, her uncle's advertisement to the world that he was going to chop a little girl's head off because that's what Wyndia needed to become a better place...

She remembered how frightened she was on her way to the block. How horrid all the hate filled voices shouting at her were. There would be no Vahn or Nichol to shield her. Would anyone care? Isabella was trash, she was always disposable trash.

She realized Ryu was holding her. Emotion took all of her words.

Her knees were against his chest. He pressed his forehead against hers, sliding his fingers into the back of her hair, not caring now how sweaty it still was. "I said I'd be here."

He stayed until dawn peeked over the horizon, until she pushed away from him and stood outside her tent towards it with her eyes almost swollen shut and her hands clasped together below her chin in a prayer hymn she belted out so eloquently, even Shyloh was in tears when she was finished.

The shaman, looking sheepish, walked over and touched two glowing fingers to Nina's eyes. The swelling instantly diminished. "That was..."

"I know, I can't take credit for it," said Nina. She blinked. "Thank you for that." The rest of her party all stared back at her with a mixture of awe and sorrow. All she could see was Ryu. "Shall we be off?"

* * *

Hands gently caressed the dragon's smooth, serene face. Slender digits traced up his jawline, intertwined with his hair.

The heavens sang sweetly to him.

_O the warrior, strong is he_

_Watching over this land, heeding everyone's plea. _

The hands went into his bangs, massaged into his scalp. If he were a cat, he would've purred.

_Tasks big or small, he takes them all_

_One mighty swing of his sword and O how foes do fall._

Ryu's eyes slowly opened, focused on the beautiful angel cradling him in her lap.

_Would you think he was happy, this warrior so strong?_

_The one who makes evil cower? Well, you would be wrong._

_Little do they know all he wants is to be free._

_No one knows, but me._

Long blonde hair tickled his cheeks, those delicate white fingers drew him closer to the lips so softly serenading him.

_With the Black Witch's web tied to his limbs_

_He can do nothing more than abide to her whims_

_The wants of nobles unworthy_

_The needs of women too worldly_

_Little does anyone know what lies behind his charismatic facade_

_Rage beyond the wrath of any god._

_No one knows, but me._

_I know the pain inside, the despair he cannot show_

_The blood that will not wipe from his hands, his untold stories of woe_

_I know of the skies he craves_

_The uninhibited heights he must wish he could brave_

Feeling a warmness in himself he couldn't begin to decipher, he reached up and caressed the angel's cheek.

_My tragic hero, no matter what you believe_

_Know I'd risk my life to set you free._

* * *

"Ryu, wake up, there's a little town, we're stopped and stocking up," Nina shook Ryu. "We need to you guard for a little bit, wake up!"

His fingers brushed against her cheek. "...I'm no hero...," he murmured, still dead to the world.

Nina couldn't tell if she was blushing anymore, her face was always burning. She shrugged his hand off and shook him harder. Finally she resorted to biting her own lip hard enough to bleed. That did the trick.

"H-hey, what for? I'm up, I'm up!" the dragon growled, groggily standing up and rubbing the blood onto the back of his hand. He ducked out from under the canopy into the sun, stretching his arms over his head. "Don't have to be so rough, a good shake is enough."

She listened to him pop almost every joint in his body. "I _tried_ shaking you! I thought you slept with one eye open!"

"I had a sleepless night twice over, remember? Give me a break."

That was right. He was awake all night with her.

Hours of him staring more intensely than he ever had into her while speaking so soothingly, willing with his whole being for the Kaiser not to show. She fingered one of her belt loops. Of him holding the back of her hair in a way she at the time thought was affection, but later came to realize was only a preemptive grip to stop her from tearing out his throat if he did.

"These winds are pretty strong today, huh? Ow!" He rubbed his arm from where sand was flying into him.

Did he do anything because he wanted to? Or only because he needed to, to survive?

His soul didn't answer.

Sometimes he was just like his body. A standoffish feral cat, only wishing for attention on his terms. "Just watch the cruiser for a minute, okay?" she asked, climbing out of it. "I'll see if they have that cactus water you always rave about." He made a disgusted face and stuck his tongue out.

They'd run into a few small towns on their way towards the oasis. Most didn't have anything to offer but scorpion steak and cactus water, but you took what nourishment you could traveling out in this place; nothing ever kept well.

Nina followed Gray, Kittah and Shyloh into a poor looking market in an even poorer looking town. Everyone but the merchants were in their houses peeking through patched up curtains at them. "Stranga's is baaaa~d most times," a leathery faced old drunk lying in a corner slurred at Nina when he noticed her looking. A dusty bottle of brown liquid attached to his lips went bottom up. "Don't ya'll be bad stranga's now!" his wheezy laugh clung to them.

"Let's get some water and get the hell out," muttered Shyloh, inching closer to Gray.

"Ahh they's mo' scared o' us than us o' them," said Gray, pushing open the door of a supply shop.

A sad looking elderly man stood at the end of a rickety counter. Behind her were mostly empty shelves covered in cobwebs. Nina felt almost like a gang coming in there with so many people. The man's eyes tripled in size when Gray walked up to him. "We need as much water as ya think it'll take ta git us ta Oasis Springs," he said, "It be all o' us, plus one an' a dog." It took money on the table for the man to respond.

"Yes sir, right away sir." He shuffled off, calling to someone named Maddie.

A woman just as elderly, his wife Nina presumed, peeked around the corner holding a broom. She eyed the money on the counter then disappeared. More yelling resumed. Then a man bigger than Gray with a bald head and dark skin stepped out with a Nina-sized barrel and slammed it on the sandy ground. All eyes went to it. "He say your money gets you this."

"Ahh that's too much-"

"Take it and go. We don't want no trouble."

"I was jus tryin' ta be nice an' tip tha old guy!" Gray cried, scratching his head looking over the cruiser to try and find a place for their new cargo. "They act like no one's capable o' nothin' good no more."

Ryu managed to wedge it into the corner he was snoring in a moment ago. "Do you blame them? Look at this place."

"Not plannin' ta fo' much longa! 'Aight boys n' gals it's time ta git a move on! Two mo' days if'n we go without stoppin', ya up fo' it?"

They all nodded in unison. It would be worth it. It was a goddessdamned _resort. _

Gray laughed and started up the cruiser. "Glad we's on tha same page!"

Heads cautiously popped out of broken windows and flimsy doors to watch them leave as the drunk in the corner's laugh echoed throughout the empty streets.

* * *

"Efaaaaa~aan! I missed you soooo much!" Isabella cried, wearing a dark little cloak, bounding across the rickety hotel floor and dive bombing her guardian sitting on an unmade, stained bed. He made sure no part of her touched it. "Efan where we going? Pretty pink lady say you'd tell me if I didn't say 'Isabella' once at the hair salon! You like my new hair! It's pink like her!" Her now bright, light pink hair was cut almost like a boy's.

"It's very nice," he said, messing it up in the front playfully. Phoebe leaned against the wall by the door with her hands resting on her weapons smiling at the little girl. Muffled voices and music pounded on the ceiling and walls. Isabella looked around suddenly at a crash and a woman's scream somewhere upstairs. "Hey, hey, look at me," said Ethan, putting his hands on her face and turning her to him. "We're going to play a game okay? I need to you be the most _quiiietest_ girl you've ever been in your entire life okay?" he murmured softly to her. "And you have to do everything I say without any questions."

"Why-?"

He covered her mouth and smiled. "Because if you are a good girl and do what I say then I'll take you to see Sissy!" Isabella's eyes lit up. "You want to see Sissy don't you?" She nodded profusely. "Okay, I'm going to let go and you're going to be _super_ quiet, okay?" The nodding continued. He let go of her and opened up a drawer near them, pulling out a little radio, a coloring book, and crayons. He handed them all to her along with his ear buds. "I want you to go over there to that desk and color Sissy some pictures. Put these in your ears and listen to the radio and make sure you color really nice, alright Izzie?" The little Wyndian grabbed everything and hurried over to the desk.

Ethan looked to Phoebe when the child was distracted by the radio. "How much did you tell her?"

"That her father was going away for awhile and that you were going to take care of her. As soon as she heard your name, it was easy to get her to comply."

"Does she know she's wanted?"

"Not sure. The castle staff was pretty neglectful of her. I've been the one feedin' an' entertainin' her. Poor thing wasn't allowed to leave her room an' she took it so well."

"She's hardly ever allowed outside of there; she's used to it."

Both of their communicators beeped simultaneously. A nervous Jaxx filled their screens when they answered. "That damn Lesley's turned on us, the dragon killed Adelaide, Dex is all outta whack, Lucas is racin' ova ta Oasis Springs right now 'n Irn-"

Jaxx's image flickered and was replaced by Dexter Kilgore. Ethan paled. The pretty face Dexter usually wore for the world smirked up at him with superiority. "Ironsides? Iiiiiii~-ronsiiiiiides? I'm broadcasting this to everybody but that little mutt so I _know_ you can hear me." Violet eyes narrowed in between strands of unusually unkempt bangs a shade darker than them. Machinery hummed in the background. "Ironsides, I'm going to torture and kill your daughter, then I'm going to kill your son. Then I'm going to kill the dragon and then of course take care of the Angel. I'm going to godsdamn kill all of them for killing Addy so don't _any_ of you bother." He pulled back, glared hard into the camera. Sands and stars flew by him. That humming was him on a cruiser. "Lucas, you bastard, I know you're going to get there before me so you better save those worens or you're dead too!" He shook his hair out of his face. "I mean it Ironsides, your kids are going to die and if you try to save them, you're going to die with them and Ironbro, believe me, I really, _really _want you to try." The screen went blank.

Ethan grabbed Isabella out of her chair without caring about her pictures and followed Phoebe out, both their wrists flashing and beeping with unanswered calls.

* * *

Now _this _was a hotel.

Thirty stories high with palm trees and tropical flowers everywhere, every floor was its own room and they had used the last of their money to get the top. Nina ditched her jacket on a patio table and stepped out onto the balcony. Every suite also had its own pool/ hot tub mixture with rock waterfalls on either side and one that ran off the railing into other guests' pools below. It was dusk, so the palm tree patterns on the floor of the pool were pulsing a bright green. She stared at it until the winds hit her.

As she gazed out into the purplish pink/ star filled desert sky with her arms out, all she could think of was-

"Miss ya wings?" Nina turned to see Kittah holding her onyx hair back from her face. She didn't answer, only stared with a stoic "Ryu-like" face. The gray woren's ears drooped, her eyes went to the marble flooring. "Nina, I dun kno' why ya think I'm afta ya or somethin'-"

"Chasta was my best friend for a very long time and look where that got me."

Kittah's brow furrowed, winds pulled loose locks out of her paw. "I get it. So everyone ya meet from now on's got no chance ta get close ta ya 'cause o' one gal's bad decisions."

Nina's eyes were cold. "Why do you want to be friends anyway? What good would that do you? I'm the Angel of Death."

Hers sparkled. "Cuz I think ya need one. An' I need one too if'n ya wanna get blunt 'bout it."

For the first time in a long time, Nina really looked at Kittah. This girl grew up in a village full of people who hated her, watching her mother waste away and die after her only brother left her there alone to do so. She could have run away afterwards, but she stayed even though she was ostracized because she had nothing, and because she knew nothing else could do nothing but wait for Gray to come back and save her. Sure, the dark dragons got rid of them all, but they almost got rid of her in the process.

Chasta was a liar, but she at least filled Nina's childhood with some _nice _fake memories.

Another chink in her warrior armor. Nina grabbed the woren's arm. "Come on, there's _two _showers in the bathroom. I talk better when I'm clean," she said, dragging her past Shyloh who was toweling off her hair. "You smell great, Shy!" she called over her shoulder at her.

"They's right ya kno'." Shyloh suddenly found Gray was awfully close.

She nudged him away, glancing around. "I thought you said you were going to the bar?"

He leaned against the glass wall between the balcony and their suite with his arms crossed looking over her. "I be waitin' on me arm candy ta git finished gettin' dolled up. Who's gonna fend off all tha girlies wantin' ta talk ta tha champ?"

Her lips pursed in an effort to stop a smile. It didn't work. "Are we _that_ popular?"

He laughed loudly, pounding his chest with a fist. "Who ya think ya talkin' ta?"

Shyloh wrapped her hair up in the towel. "Fifteen minutes," she said, walking through the entertainment quarters over towards her room. Gray's eye was glued to her, visualizing what he knew was underneath that-

Wolfie barked and it startled him. "What? If'n ya could talk, I bet ya'd say she was a damn nice lookin' thang too!" He muttered, wondering why he felt embarrassed about it. The dog whined and cocked his head.

* * *

Nina didn't know what making love felt like, but certainly a good, hot shower wasn't far from it.

Ryu's soul chuckled in agreement.

Nina sat back against a padded booth seat inside the shower with her eyes closed, letting the water soothe her aching body. Thank the goddess the hour it took for them to get all of their things into the room and check it out had given her sunburn a chance to heal so she could enjoy this.

In the shower beside her, a bottle popped open. Kittah's shadow through the cream colored curtain dividing their black tiled heavens pour something into its hands. "Wow this stuff smells good o' nuff ta eat, what the hell it be? Co-co-nut. What be that?" Kittah had informed her before coming in here that this would be her first shower ever. _"Ha, like Yuistel be a paradise or somethin'. If'n ya wanted a hot bath, ya went ta tha stream an' ya took ya pot, filled it up, lugged the sucka all tha way back an then heated it up an' hoped ta tha Tigress ya dun spill any o' it in tha process,"_ she had said.

Nina popped open her shampoo not expecting what was inside to pull so many dark memories out of her mind's closet. Strawberries. She scowled and unscrewed the top. "Hey Kittah, can I borrow some of that? Mine seems to be empty," she asked, watching the last of it go down the drain. A silver paw covered in soap came through to her side. She took the bottle it held and started to wash her hair. Wow it really _did _smell good enough to eat.

After they both had finished their hair, Kittah opened the curtain a bit. Nina leaned back on her seat. The woren's bright blues were so drastic compared to everything in here. "Are we gonna be 'aight?" she asked softly.

Nina was tired of having her heart ripped out. Chasta had played a charade for longer than any sane person would have and Ethan... She looked away only because she didn't want Kittah to think the look she had was for her. "It's like I have a wall," she said, watching bubbles swirl around the drain. "that I feel like I must put up or something really bad will happen."

"Adelaide broke tha last straw, huh?"

Adelaide. Goddess she looked like Isabella. Poor, headless little Isabella... Nina nodded numbly.

"Wolfie's been me only friend fo' a bit now. Shy be there, but she like fam'ly. It ain't tha same." Kittah reached over and took Nina's hand. Surprised, the Wyndian looked up. Kittah's hair flowed down her like black water. "What ken I do ta make ya kno' I ain't neva gonna do nothin' ta ya? Ya dun deserve anyone ta botha ya, ya've had too much stuff happenin' ta ya! Hell I been seein' a lot o' it wit me own eyes!"

The chink was getting bigger.

_I do not wish for you to become the heartless beast I once had to be. Stop beating yourself up about it. _

Nina squeezed the woren's hand. "After this, let's go check out the rest of the resort. Maybe we'll see some good looking guys around," she said with a wink.

The woren smiled widely, looking almost Gray-ish. "Cal should be down at tha bar gettin' us some mo' cash. Let's go rile things up a bit, eh?"

* * *

Ryu sat with his feet in tha hot tub watching the wind blow the leaves of the tropical plants set all around their balcony. Everyone was gone; he had just said goodbye to Nina, Kittah and Wolfie heading out. He laid back against cooled marble and stared up into the now star-filled sky.

_Relax. _

Every muscle was ready. "I can't help it."

_Lesley said not to worry about that Gisshan fellow._

"I don't know what to worry about anymore, so I might as well worry about it all," he growled.

_What are we going to do against Dexter?_

Ryu made the hot tub water boil by releasing a fire spell through his heels. On one of his many "walks" with Lesley, the shaman had divulged everything he knew about Dexter Kilgore to the dragon. He was an old member of the AG like Gray's father and, like his sister, made himself look a lot younger than he was. _"Expect the prettiest guy ya'd ever see, but don't expect no pretty attitude with that face, that guy's insane," _he'd said.

More so than Ivory? Ryu had asked him. Than Zeth?

Lesley had laughed a long time before answering, _"Gods, yo' in fo' a treat."_

Dexter was one of the most powerful people in the AG because he could make you do whatever he wanted you to. If he wanted you to stab yourself in the foot, you did it without question. Stab your friend? You'd love to! Slice open your own eye? Ironsides did it, why not you? Kill your children in front of your wife and then her? Oh you couldn't do it fast enough!

"_It's like he a god or somethin', and all ya wanna do is please him," _Lesley shivered, _"I don't kno' what we gonna do. I ain't never felt so 'stripped' o' everythin' that was me when I was 'round 'im. Not bein' in control of yourself be a bitch."_

Story of Ryu's life.

"Sounds like we're going to have to play him by ear," said the dragon with uncertainty.

_I don't like it._

"Neither do I."

_I'll do my best to help you fight him._

He smiled, remembering her singing so softly to him. "I know you will."

Thunder sounded in the far distance.

Wait, what?

Ryu sat up and stared at lightning striking down from an enormous black cloud blotting out the stars on the horizon.

* * *

Scratch meeting any guys, Wolfie was a male repellent. Any man coming within feet of Kittah looking like he wanted to speak with her got an earful of Wolfie's feelings about it. They had to pull him out of the hotel to the front where there wasn't much traffic.

Kittah leaned down in her nice new summery coral sundress she had just bought and whacked the dog on the nose with her bag of desert clothes. He whined and pawed at her. "Why ya gotta be like that, huh? Ain't non o' these guys gonna do nothin' ta us! Stop bein' a lil' menace!" She looked up at Nina, wearing her own pastel blue version of her ensemble, except she had opted for heels. Kittah didn't understand heels.

The Wyndian only laughed. "He's one territorial pup!"

The dog jumped and nuzzled the woren's face. She sighed and hugged him in return. "Needy bastid," she said giving him a big kiss on the head.

Cheers could be heard coming from the bar. "I wonder if Gray's winning?"

"'course 'e be! Wish we could go look at 'im do it," she growled at the dog who only cocked his head back at her innocently.

"What? Really? You mean someone actually _kidnapped _the little monster girl from Wyndia?"

Nina's ears pricked. On the other side of a giant five tiered fountain, a man and a woman were sitting on a bench talking. The woman was reading the evil paper Nina had sworn off of. "Yeah, look right here. The new King Julian went to fetch her for the execution and found her missing and her balcony door open!"

"Don't she got wings? Lil' bugger probably flew away."

"No, they're saying they think the _guardian_ did it since they can't find him either, isn't that wild?"

Nina's spirits started to pry themselves up from the ground they'd been embedded in. Was she hearing that correctly? Ethan kidnapped Isabella right before her execution? Why would he do that? That was against Wyndia... Everything he ever damn did was for Wyndia!

This time, was it for her?

Her heart pounded at the thought of seeing him again.

_He tried to kill you, _Ryu's soul bitterly reminded her.

"Yes, I clearly remember," she said, face darkening.

"'Memba what?" asked Kittah standing up.

Nina turned to her, grinning ear to ear. "I've got some really good news, but I need to tell it to Ryu too, so come on, let's go back to the room!"

* * *

The clouds were spreading closer. Lightning streaked through sheets of rain Ryu could see pelting the lands. Who did Gray say was the guy who could control the weather? Lucas?

"Ryu! Isabella's not dead! Ethan kidnapped her and I have no clue what he's trying to—what the hell, is that a-a thunderstorm?" Nina cried, running in with heels, a dress, and some unnecessary jewelry on.

Kittah tailed behind looking just as made up. "Tigress' whiskers I ain't neva seen a storm like that!"

Thunder shook the entire hotel, the water in their pools sloshed angrily. Lightning arched across the blackness in a beautiful display. Winds tore through the trees below them. Ink like clouds crept nearer.

Ryu readied his blades and motioned for Nina to follow suit. He could feel him dead ahead.

"There!" Nina cried pointing. "Wearing a robe!"

Sheets of water dumped down onto them. Lightning blasted marble. Kittah and Wolfie ducked back into the building. Ryu cut through rain with a fire infused bone blade, trying to evaporate the water on contact so he could see-

Suddenly he was lifted from the ground by an unseen force and thrown clear off the balcony.

_"GO GET HIM, DUMMY!" _screamed Merybel from Nina's ear. The Wyndian ripped out one of her earrings and dove off after him.

He was almost to the third floor before she caught him by the waist. A family of humans all stared at the black wings with their mouths open. She ignored them and shot back up. "Keep your wings out!" Ryu cried to her.

"Everyone's going to see!"

"It doesn't matter, our first priority is getting rid of this guy! Get me back onto the balcony!"

Lucas had spread his dark clouds over the top of the building in an attempt to hide himself. And to shoot lightning wherever he damn well wanted to. Nina darted back as one bolt struck the air near them. Ryu took hold of her arm and she swung him back on marble flooring. He immediately stealthed. His clouds wouldn't be in the shadow realm, maybe there he could see him-

There he was, pulling water up from the pool into the air and crystallizing it into a spear. He was looking back at Nina. "Nina, watch out!" The spear barely missed impaling her. Ryu appeared on the other side of Lucas, blades steaming. The boy's hood flew back as the dragon connected with the shield of air he had surrounding him.

Short white hair ruffled, navy eyes laughed at him as he whistled. "That's _some_ force...too bad it'll never hit."

Ryu smirked and sliced again. And again, and again, and again. "Nina!" he called.

"On it!" she answered, flying over and doing the same thing with her blades.

They weren't getting through, but the force of them both was enough to knock him around in his shell. "Alright, you two are starting to _piss me_ _off_!" Lucas cried, clenching both his fists and pulling them out to his sides. Invisible forces grabbed both Nina and Ryu and pulled them back. Lucas grinned and banged his fists together. Nina and Ryu came crashing into one another. Not giving them a chance to comprehend or recover from what just happened, Lucas banged again. So did the two of them with a sickening _thud _and a _crack_._  
_

Blood filled Ryu's eyes and mouth. Nina coughed up her own crimson fountain. _Bang._ He felt his body jerk back. Dear Ladon it was going to happen again. That last one broke a few ribs and he didn't know if it was his injury or hers. They were coming back together. Ryu watched Nina squeeze her eyes closed, saw the color drain from her features and suddenly...

"STOOOOOOP!"

They stopped. Ryu could feel Nina's ragged breath on his neck, her rapid heartbeat pound from her chest to his. Below them stood Kittah in Weretiger form with her arms out. Lucas glared at her from within his bubble.

"Leave 'em be!" she roared through gigantic teeth.

Lucas smirked and raised them both higher. "I wonder if she can still fly after this," said his soft voice. The invisible 'fist' of air holding Nina squeezed until both her wings cracked.

Kittah watched, her heart going into her stomach, Lucas toss them both screaming off the building.

* * *

A/N: Chapter 29 might take me a little bit, so here's 28 early! And yes, I do enjoy writing this a lot. Ryu is a very fun character to play around with :)


	30. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty-nine**

_I Made a Mistake I Will Not Make Again. Nothing Happened Out There and Nothing Ever Will Again! Do I Make Myself Clear!?_

The news trembled in Chasta's white hands.

"Eat your dinner, I won't have you skimping like you did yesterday."

No no no no _no._

Sophia tapped one of them with a fork and pointed to the bowl of steaming pasta in front of her. Chasta waved her away.

What the hell was Ethan's _deal!?_

Nina was probably _so _devastated by Julian's rantings in the earlier papers about Isabella's execution that she'd been crying for _days_- Wait. Chasta's brow furrowed. It could have backfired, what if it sent her into that dragon's arms for days... She chewed on a nail. _Agh _and he was _attractive_...

"Chasta!"

"Stop nagging me while I'm thinking!" Chasta's chair tilting back on its hind legs snapped forward. Two more treatments and she would be free of this place. Sophia glared at her over her spectacles from across the table. She hoped.

Sophia snatched the paper out of Chasta's hands, crumpled it up and threw it behind her. "So he took her and she wasn't executed. Like it wasn't obvious how happy you were the other day about _that _news. What, you think there's something you can do about it?"

Chasta matched her look. "You don't own me. Once I'm healed, I'm gone."

"And where will you go?"

"Away from you and that's all that matters."

A bug zapper near them popped and sputtered. A fight between two musclebound thugs broke out below the deck they were eating on. Cheers ensued as bystanders crowded around. "And what is your plan, hmm?" Sophia net her fingers under her chin. "Please enlighten me on the _brilliance _your synapses are firing."

"_GIT 'IM, MAC! KNOCK 'IM ON 'IS UGLY FACE!"_

Yeah, she got it, Nina was the godsdamn Angel of Death and one kick had almost sent her to the Goddess, Chasta thought, casting an eye over to see one of the thugs take metal knuckles to the teeth. But her father's name was still highly respected in Elanaar's underworld even now. Between that and her stunning personality she would be able to get anyone or anything she wanted from there.

Zeth left days ago, Sophia had made sure of it. Chasta twirled pasta around her fork, stuffed a huge bite into her mouth. Good riddance, he'd blocked her from his communicator and wouldn't tell her Ethan's whereabouts before he did anyways. Another bite, this time with a meatball. All she needed was to get her hands on Nina's sister and the bitch would have no choice but to come to her.

Blood and broken teeth spewing, the thug who wasn't 'Mac' fell back against the crowd. Cheering and hollering for more, they pushed him back into the fray.

"My affairs are none of your business," said Chasta after swallowing.

"It is if I am your keeper."

"Pshh, I'm plenty old enough to be on my own."

Sophia's hand slammed against the table. Her glass of water spilled onto the floor. "Not if you are incapable of making sensible decisions for yourself! So help me gods, Chasta, you will eat, sleep, and breathe under my eye until this whole damn Angel business is over!"

The crowd closed in on the two. Knuckles flew and bashed a bystander in the temple. His friends jumped the owner. Whistles started to blow, the crowd called for more blood. Guards piled in from the outside, knocking those fighting to the ground.

Little did they know an even more dangerous conflict was brewing right above them.

Chasta took another bite of her food, not taking her eyes away from her sister's.

_Pop! Sizzle...buzzbuzzbuzz Pop! Pop!  
_

There was no way around it. It would have to be done tonight.

* * *

Everyone in the second grandest hotel this side of the planet's (appropriately named _Diamond in the Rough_) bar was at the wall sized front window as soon as the first bout of thunder shook the building. Gray had just slammed his fiftieth arm against a card table when bottles, glasses and people alike staggered and fell. The big cat muscled through the ones who didn't, dragging Shyloh protectively behind him as she hurriedly stuffed their winnings into a new purse. His eye widened at the black clouds impossibly churning over head bottoming out. Thunder crashed again. Rain pelted against glass. Lightning streaked across the sky in odd patterns, concentrating solely on the air around the rooftop.

"Weatherbro..." Gray muttered, gripping Shyloh's wrist tighter. "C'mon, we gotta git ta Ryu!"

_Crash!_

"I think he found us," said Shyloh, her stormy eyes on what sent the entire room into chaos.

* * *

Ryu hugged Nina as close as their injuries would allow and took the brunt of their fall on his back, downsizing the hotel's fountain a few tiers. What people were left out in the storm ran screaming about the Angel of Death into the building. Groaning, Ryu tried to sit up, couldn't. Nina moaned on top of him, her broken wings floated pathetically in brightly lit aqua blue colored water seeping out from underneath him.

He felt her consciousness slipping away. "No, Nina, don't go to sleep, you can't go to sleep, Nina_...Nina!"_ he hissed in her ear. She was dead weight against him. "Nina wake- - Mery!"

The pink faerie landed on Nina's back and immediately went to work on her. "Her bones aren't as strong as yours," she voiced Ryu's thoughts. "Most of the damage is probably hers!" They were correct, he could feel himself healing twice as fast. When her wings were done mending themselves back together, he stood with the Wyndian in his arms against the rain.

"Merybel get out of this mess and rest up," said Ryu to the faerie flying in front of him with her jaw squared, trying not to show how weak this whole trip was making her.

"But Master-"

His smile was almost sad. "I mean it, I'm about to worry you even more."

"You couldn't possibly-"

her voice faded as crimson wings burst from her master's back.

* * *

Beating wings. Were they hers? No...

Strong hands gripped her. Amber slowly swiveled around. Why was Ryu holding her? What day was it? Was Ryu _flying_?

Rain splashed against her in the dragon's arms definitely high up in the air. How? She looked up at him facing straight ahead.

"Wings? Boo, that's cheating, dragon!" Lucas' boyish quip cut through the storm.

"Nina! Ryu! Thank gods y'all be 'aight!" called Kittah from the balcony in her normal form, her dress now nothing but torn rags. A shield like the one around Lucas surrounded her, otherwise she was being ignored.

"Can you fly?" asked Ryu gruffly. Nina nodded. Scales were creeping up his neck. Were his eyes getting darker? He released her, she took to the air beside him. His wings were bone covered in scales with a worn, leathery skin making up the meat of them. Black spikes jutted out of the joints. Black scales were forming on his hands.

Black.

"Are you alright?" asked Nina softly, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. He flexed blades out of his arms and dove into the shadows. A lightning bolt cracking near her snapped her out of her daze. She followed him into his realm.

Gray and Shyloh ran out onto the balcony. "That be that bastid Lucas! 'Memba 'e can control tha... Wh-whatthehellbedis-_SHY!_" A windshield appeared around him and Shyloh flew off the edge.

Nina caught her before she fell more than a few stories. Mascara ran down through mint hair plastered to the shaman's pale cheeks. "Th-thank-"

"No time! Cast something to help!" If she put Shyloh back down, all he was going to do was throw her out there again. Damnit, he was keeping her hands full on purpose!

Ryu materialized in front of Lucas, attempting to slice through his shield. This time the invisible fist submerged him into the pool.

A minute passed. No Ryu, only angry bubbles.

"Anytime, Shyloh!" screamed Nina impatiently.

"I-I can't concentrate like this!" cried the shaman, spitting out water torrenting against her.

Cursing, Nina called for her ice sprite to lend a hand for some spell, _any spell._

The bubbles stopped_._

"For Gods sakes, fashion a something out of this blasted rain! _Now__!_" yelled the Wyndian, making the decision for her.

"Don't you rush me!" Bright blue hands made trails in the darkness as the Shyloh coaxed the droplets into a spear shape with the tiny ice sprite's help. "Happy!? Fly closer!" Nina wasn't able to stealth them both, so against her better judgement, plain as day she weaved through lightning bolts to help the shaman get off a good shot. Of course the assassin saw them coming from a mile away. Strong winds sent them reeling back. Shyloh still threw the spear, he stole it with a cackle.

Lucas Astaguard cast a smug look everyone's way. Rain transformed into hail. Thunder quaking the land intensified enough to break off parts of the building. Gray and Kittah both fought to no avail against their windy prisons. "I don't know why Zeth was so adamant about me waiting on Dexter, I have every one of you under control and I barely had to lift a fing-"

The pool exploded and Lucas' head went tumbling at Kittah's feet.

Hail ceased to fall; the sky instantly cleared. The rest of Lucas crumpled. Pool water rained down. Ice shattered. Nina dismissed the sprite and flew Shyloh over to a wide eyed Gray. Wolfie ran out of the suite to Kittah. She inched away from the surprised head, fixated on Ryu hovering with his bloodied blades still readied. Water lapped at broken marble and ice, turning a thick, deep red.

Gray's fist pumped the air. "Yeah bro, ya got 'im! I cain't believe ya jus' broke outta all 'is mess like it ain't mean a damn thing! C'mon Shyloh, even ya gotta dig tha AG ain't got _nuthin' _on our bro!"

Ryu turned around. Red eyes.

He wasn't alright.

Everyone else stepped back with a gasp when he appeared inches from Nina. It was imperative she remained steady. "You," rumbled her friend in Draconian, almost as gravelly as the demon fighting for its freedom inside of him, "Let's play."

Nina could literally feel the Kaiser's aura wrapping her sanity around its manipulative fingers like she sometimes used to a lock of her hair. She knew the face she was making was scaring the hell out of Kittah on the other side of him. "Put your wings away, Ryu," said the Wyndian as calmly as she could back to him in his language. Thank the gods for his soul's support. "You don't need them anymore."

His forehead rested against hers. Two pools of glowing blood laughed at her louder than his mouth ever could. "I need them for you," he said.

The fingers pulled her sanity taut, stretching it further and further-

_NINA!  
_

"Nina...," Gray ventured, getting in front of Shyloh, "What be wrong wit Ryu?"

The Wyndian didn't take her eyes from the dragon's. "Now isn't a good time," she said to him firmly neck instinctively armoring itself.

Ryu smirked and had Gray on the edge of their balcony by the throat before her next blink. "Caleb!" screamed Shyloh, "Nina, do something!"

If she didn't engage him now, he was going to kill Gray and when he inevitably learned of that deed she really wouldn't be able to handle the monster he would become. "F-fine, but not here, there are too many people around!"

The dragon's smile widened as his head shook slowly. Claws gripped Gray tighter. The big cat choked and scrabbled at his wrist. "The rules are not for you to make."

Nina glared. No. For once, things were going to go _her. way._ "This time, they _are,_" she sneered, taking off as fast as she could into the desert listening to his sudden booming laughter fading into the distance.

Moonlit sands sparkled beneath her as she flew. She wondered which dune contained the insides she knew had to have fallen out of her.

The one thing she never wanted to happen was happening. Forget Dexter, what the hell was she going to do about _Ryu_? By no means would she ever want to fight him like this! _Could _she? It was impossible for even her to follow him when he decapitated Lucas or grabbed Gray. How the hell was she supposed to-

_Behind._

Nina whirled around. Of course he would be here this fast, giving her no time to think whatsoever. Amber studied her black armored dragon friend hovering near, draped in the shadow of a cloud passing over the moon. The only sounds were winds gently sweeping across the sands and the unnerving flap of wings sounding somehow so _concrete_ compared to her own. "I d-d-d-d-d-d," she swallowed, scowling at the amusement her stutter evoked, "I don't want to spar when you're like this, Ryu. It's too dangerous, you know it is."

His muscles were cut even more severe than usual and stretching out the remnants of the tank top his wings' debut destroyed. Crimson orbs again laughed at her through dark damp hair, their glow thinning. "_My _rules." He was on her swinging before his meager sentence finished. She deflected the first couple of blows clumsily, took the third one in her shoulder a good few inches deep. Blood burst from his. She kneed him in his gut, heard her own kneecap _crack. _No scales, that was from his damn_ abs. _ Howling in pain she flew back. Ryu twirled, sparks flew as both of his blades grazed her throat. She hooked them in hers when he brought them back around. He kneed her bad knee with his good one without so much as a flinch. She screamed, they untangled. Into the shadows he went. So did she, flying far back to try and buy time to heal.

This was _really _bad-

"Don't hold back," said the dragon into her ear. She swung back at him. He caught her blade, went to say something presumably smart-assed by the look on his face, was interrupted by her good knee mashing his nose in. He let go of her with a yelp and backed away, holding it.

A hit! She actually got a hit on him!

_You're welcome._

Her mental fanfare to him didn't last long, the glare his body shot seized hers entirely.

How strange, being afraid of Ryu like this again. Just the other day she'd accidentally elbowed his head on the cruiser. He'd cut his eyes at her and she'd shrugged it off. Did she even apologize? Who knew? It was good ol' harmless Ryu after all.

The dragon's heartbeat was becoming erratic, harsh breath seeped noisily through bared fangs. His madness was spreading, it was suffocating her...

**Embrace it, Keeper.  
**

Well she guessed her insides were back because there they went again.

_He's just as frightened._

With his soul's help she gathered what she could of herself together. Yes. Inside that scowling creature he was the scared little boy she'd been comforting for so long. He needed her right now like she'd needed him when Vahn pushed her over the edge. But _how_? How did he deal with her? She remembered waking up with him holding her in his jaws. Did she have to do something like that to him? Hell would freeze over before she would be able to ambush him!

_Ah...see...it's like this..._

Sunburn resurfaced across Nina's cheeks as his soul explained to her exactly why what Ryu did worked and how unfortunately it wasn't the same for males. She reached back, felt the holes her scales refused to fill.

_That's his mark. If we were in my time, you'd be deemed his mate to any other dragon seeing it. You should have marks there even under the scales._

His words broke through her fear, creating the perfect chance to attack. Rest assured if she had been the one hit, he wouldn't have been giving her time to readjust _her_ nose. She faded into the shadows. He caught her incoming blade in his hand when she appeared on the other side of him and pulled her close. Gods his _aura. _Nina frantically tried to pull loose in the brief instant of sheer panic his nearness gave her. When she couldn't, she threw her other fist forward, he caught it too. She tried to headbutt him, he met her halfway and almost knocked her out. Dazed, she fought to focus. His lips curled up over his teeth. Next thing she knew he had her by the throat. Her knee caught his chin before he could get a good enough grip. Diamond sharp canines tore through dragon armor into skin on their way up. Back she went clutching her wounds. He hovered there licking her blood off of his lips like it was honey while he reset his jaw.

Nina flung it off of her hand like water. "Alright," she said, forcing a strange sounding laugh, "You always say when blood gets involved, it's time to take a break and c-calm down." His eyes were two glowing slivers guarding the murderous intentions she knew the black holes of the beast behind them held.

He was her friend no longer.

Not a heartbeat later, her back/wings slammed into sand; there was no connecting what happened in between. All the air flew from her lungs. Ryu landed heavily on her before she could recover. She gasped and wheezed painfully as he used his body to pin her down. Onyx claws forced her chin up, exposing her struggling throat and tearing her eyes away from his soulless pits. Blood oozed from scales already clotting her wounds. He nipped the largest one back open. Crimson flowed. He hungrily lapped it up.

Nina's lungs finally allowed her a deep, satisfying breath. She sighed it back out awkwardly at the sensation of his tongue darting over her skin. White fingers and toes dug into sand. Growling, Ryu latched onto her throat and jerked her upwards, drinking in what her heart was pumping rapidly throughout her terrified frame.

She remembered beautiful, shimmering stars as her head lolled back, and the gentle sucking sound of him feeding as blackness closed in around her.

* * *

Nina awoke to loud shuffling and a wardrum for a heartbeat.

Dizzily she sat up. Her body felt so light...

Ryu crouched in front of her, a frightened, disheveled animal. His wings lay sprawled on the ground beside him. Overly alert eyes peeked at her through wild hair.

Yellow. Not red.

Her friend was back.

She crawled towards him. "Stay away from me!" the dragon snarled menacingly. A wide trail of her blood ran from his chin to the middle of his chest. No one in their right mind would have come near him, he looked almost more a monster now than he did with the Kaiser, half armored, frazzled and dangerously broken.

No one, but her.

She ignored his warning. He bristled. "I mean it, Nina, you _stay the hell away from me_!" he spat, veins streaking across his forehead. She wiped sand from her hands and embraced him. He resisted, her forehead cemented to his.

Nina grabbed both sides of his smooth face. "No."

"Nina _please._"

"I won't let him take you again."

He stopped fighting. Winds quietly blew sands over their wings. The green winter moon sparkled beautifully on his scales. Navy tickled her cheeks. It wasn't so damp anymore. Shaking hands gripped her shoulders. "Your blood whispers to me... Do you realize how much I lust for it now?" asked the dragon through barely parted lips, thumbing over the scales on her injuries. "Do you realize how much of it I _did _consume?"

Yes. Her head was swimming. "I'm fine," she lied.

"You're lying and you'll be in worse shape if you stay."

"Stop worrying about me."

"Ladon, you're so godsdamn _stubborn._"

"And you aren't?"

Fingers brushed over her cheek. There was that smile that always released a flood of butterflies into her stomach. "It's admirable of you to do this, it really is, but you have nothing to prove to me."

"Of course I don't." The Kaiser's aura was weak but it was still hovering over them, watching...waiting... "You said yourself one thing we should both know is that we can depend on the other no matter what, remember?"

His heart's tempo was increasing rapidly. She had to calm him down!

A long time ago, Nina had found a poem in an old Wyndian book she was studying from of a Wyndian tragic hero, presumably written in woe about one of Ethan's ancestors. She'd always relate it to Ethan as well, changing the witch to either the AG or her father. Was she remembering it now because it related so much more to Ryu? How that bitch had control of his strings against his will for so long?

She wove the words into song.

The Kaiser's pollution dispersed as if it had never existed in the first place. Dragon wings and scales melted away into black smoke. Callouses trembled against the Wyndian's skin, he cupped the side of her face in his palm. She continued into the second verse. Why was his heart still skipping so-?

Head tilting, he guided her lips to his.

At first he was slow, cautious. She met him back with equal hesitance, not comprehending this was happening at all. He moved his legs out of the way to pull her against his blood and sweat drenched torso. Her hands went into his hair.

Nina's thoughts muddled as he kissed her harder, her limbs tingled for not the reason they should have been. She could taste her blood on his tongue. He really did drink a lot of it, she thought vaguely as blackness ate away at her consciousness.

* * *

It was so easy. For as much as Sophia acted like she didn't trust her, it was so easy to sneak into her room, pull back her covers and slip the knife between her ribs into her heart.

She didn't struggle much and for a moment Chasta was afraid she would be dead before she opened her eyes to see who the culprit was. Right at the end, her sister clutched the hand holding the hilt in her shaking ones and sent one final look of hatred her way. Chasta met it back with a sickly sweet smile.

Now she was free.

* * *

Nina blinked. A skylight stretched above her. Stars studded an early morning atmosphere. Right, the hotel, she remembered.

There was a depression in the bed beside her. "Shyloh fled when she saw me. Gray went after. His sister and the dog are gone as well. I doubt if any of them bother returning after the show I must have put on. It's probably for the best."

Memories flooded back. Hail, lightning, blood and Ryu's soft, anxious lips.

Nina sat up slowly, the hunched dragon didn't budge. "Our next move is to plan for Dexter, although I'll be brutally honest I don't have a notion of what we're supposed to do against someone who can directly control us. Might you entertain any thoughts?" None of the ones running through her head were about Dexter now that he was looking at her.

Even with the supreme indifference he was exhibiting, he was mind numbingly handsome. He'd been that way to her for awhile now. The way his hair fell so coyly over his sharp topazes, the confidence constantly radiating from his posture. She flashed back to his anguished face in the desert screaming at her to leave. She swallowed, suddenly more timid than ever to speak in front of him. "How are you feeling?" she asked softly, blood coloring her cheeks.

He turned his head sharply, muttering, "I'm fine. He has retired. There is no need to speak of it anymore."

Speak of the Kaiser? Or what happened afterward? Nina fought to overcome nervous spikes piercing her belly. She remembered his face so near to hers as she held him, his eyes both yearning for and casting her away at the same time. It was the same look she received when she touched his shoulder now, intensifying as she brought herself closer.

Grasping her shoulders, he stopped her. Quick as a flash, his expression was cold, hard stone. "For your own good, you better throw away everything you think you might feel about me right now, Nina, because nothing, _nothing_ will ever come of it. Our kinds do not belong together. It's both foolish and childish to toy with the thought." His words were frostbite on her heart. The hands holding her shook. He growled loudly and let go. She wasn't sure if he originally meant to be so threatening or if he really was that embarrassed she might have caught it, but he was in her face with his teeth bared regardless. "I made a mistake I will not make again. _Nothing _happened out there and nothing ever will again! Do I make myself clear!?"_  
_

She didn't answer. The hurt and anger coursing through her was too much to put into words.

He lingered there for good measure. "Be thinking about Dexter. _He _is our priority." He stood. Nina glared at his back as he exited her room.

Cursing in every language she knew, she jumped out of bed and threw open the bathroom door. Her clothes crumpled to the floor, she went to turn on the shower and realized the garments she had just discarded were clean. Also the nozzle was still damp. Her body lit aflame amidst her rage. "D-Did he really?"

"_No, he didn't dummy, I did," _chimed Merybel's voice from her earrings.

Nina turned the nozzle anyways, "Well I didn't get to enjoy it so I'm taking another." She needed to think. She wished Kittah was here. Gods she hoped they all came back. Even Shyloh. Warm water hit her, she sat down on the bench with her arms draped over her knees like the dragon might and let the water push her hair off of her neck.

"_Don't hate Master Ryu," _said the faerie after Nina sat for a long while wondering why his soul was being so silent.

"What do you know," Nina spat.

"_More than you!"_

"I can hate who I want, alright, I'm not a child."

"_But you shouldn't him! He has reasons for everything he does!"_

"And they all pertain to him!"

_"Besides me, Master has lost everything he has ever loved. You know that."  
_

"So what you're saying is it doesn't matter what he feels, he'll never act on it because he doesn't want to get attached."

"_That's part of it!"_

"Fucking coward," she growled.

"_You watch your language, he is not a coward, just aware of how volatile he is! What a fate it would be for him to wake up one day from an episode to find his lover dead by his own hand!" _Nina didn't speak, only stared at her tears mingling with the shower water. _"He's doing what he thinks is best for the both of you."_

Her hands caressed her throat. It was healed. Fingers went to the back of it, slid into four grooves pocketing her otherwise unblemished skin. Her heart hurt.

First Ethan, now this. Men were too much trouble, why should she bother?

Still his soul was quiet. Thanks friend, she thought sarcastically.

"He's doing the best thing for himself."

_"Do you think it's easy for him? He thought for a moment back there you were going to die. If you think he doesn't care about you, you're wrong."  
_

Agh, she didn't want to hear things like that if he wasn't going to do anything about it... "Why are you being nice? What's in it for you?"

_"Rude, as always," _Merybel muttered, _"Nothing. Maybe I feel sorry for you. I can tell you genuinely care about him back, even though you're still a dummy,"  
_she made sure to add.

Nina growled, baring her own fangs at the shower floor, "I don't know what I care about anymore."

He wanted her to forget everything? Fine. He was nothing to her but an annoying, foul mouthed guard dog once again.

She wondered why it was so easy to think, yet at the same time felt like she was ripping out a part of herself and stomping on it. She let the emptiness it left suck in her feelings until there was nothing behind but a dazed shell of herself sitting there barely noticing the water pouring onto her was getting colder.

It was done.

* * *

**A/N: **Nintendo came out with a Wii U game called Art Academy and I've been playing with it as much as I can. I want to learn how to do digital art! I put some of my pictures up on my Deviantart if ya'd like a look. Also FF14 is out and of course I have to lvl 2 jobs...

Thank you guys so much for your continued support! Love you all! ^^


End file.
